


Part 3: Moving Beyond

by peldarjoi



Series: Terrorists Don't Get to Be Heroes [3]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Bajorans, Canon-Typical Violence, Cardassians, F/M, Gen, Non-Explicit Sex, Original Character(s), Starfleet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-09-26 13:24:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 105,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9899096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peldarjoi/pseuds/peldarjoi
Summary: A past fighting for her people’s freedom has become a future fighting to protect the Federation, but there are still costs.





	1. Kee sat back with a knot in her stomach

**Author's Note:**

> It is very important that you have read Parts 1 and 2 before reading Part 3. I don't do a lot of re-explaining of events and people from Parts 1 and 2.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year: 2375

Kee woke up before 0500 hours and quietly pulled on her workout clothes, careful not to wake up Maggie, soundly asleep in their shared quarters. Maranda-class ships didn’t have luxuries like holodecks, so the security personnel had to share the minimal selection of training equipment they had.

She wanted to get in a good 10k run on one of the two treadmills before the rest of alpha shift was awake. She entered the gym to find it empty just as she’d hoped. She stepped onto the treadmill, selected her program and started it. While the program started her off at a slow speed, she called up a playlist including some of Cadda’s most recent music and cranked up the volume. Another benefit of being here alone.

As the computer increased the speed to a steady jog her mind wandered back to times when she’d run in the forest back home. Not for fun or exercise, for her life. But now no Cardassian patrols followed her, the surface she ran on was flat and even, no branches whipped at her face and legs, no phaser rifle to weigh her down. She ran in the relative safety of a starship, climate controlled with a bottle of clean, cool water at her side. She appreciated the advantages she now had, but still had trouble really accepting that she’d somehow survived that part of her life. At this point she’d lived almost as much of her life since the end of the Occupation than she did with the Resistance, but that part of her life still haunted her.

Her mind snapped back to reality when the doors opened. She quickly turned down her music and saw Lieutenant Rice enter. “Sorry about that.” She said, breathing hard now. “I didn’t expect anybody to be up before I finished.”

“It’s alright. I think I’m growing to like that music, actually. Reminds me of Earth classical gen-x music.” He said, joining her on the other treadmill. He quickly punched it up to the same level she was on. She worked to keep her breathing even and it seemed like he was doing the same. Two steps in, two steps out. She resisted the urge to increase her speed beyond his, he had a point to make, after all. Despite the burning in her legs; the pounding of her heart and air in her lungs felt good. Before she gave in to the impulse to best his speed, the computer signaled that she had completed the selected distance and in several 20-second segments it automatically slowed her to a fast walk.

She said goodbye and returned to her quarters to get ready for duty. The Antares was assigned to patrol what had once been the demilitarized zone before the Dominion had wiped out the Maquis and all of the Federation colonies there. Over the last few months Starfleet had been pushed back as far as Betazed. Kee entered her quarters to see that Maggie had already left. She twisted her hair up into a low bun and saw that there was a message from Ren waiting for her. She sat down and called it up, noting that he had used an encrypted channel.

“Kee, I heard from Veeso.” He started slowly. Veeso had dropped out of contact after moving to the Niburon colonies and she’d long worried about his safety in disputed space. “He said he has some information regarding the security of the Federation. He wouldn’t say what it was, only that it’s urgent. He wants you to meet him in secret at an eatery in Settlement 26 in two days, alone. I went ahead and told him that you’ll be there. Good luck.”

The recording ended and Kee sat back with a knot in her stomach.

* * *

Kee followed Rice into the captain’s ready room. She’d immediately reported the message to him and he asked her to come with him to pass it on to the Captain.

Russel greeted them warmly from her desk, “What can I do for you two?”

As the superior officer, Rice started, “Ensign Norv received a message from a Bajoran Militia officer regarding some kind of sensitive information.” It seemed so formal when he said it that way.

Russel leaned back in her chair. “Go on.”

Kee jumped in with the details. “Captain Ren from the Krehu sent me an encoded message to tell me that a former colleague of ours has urgent information and wants to meet me in two days.”

“Any indication of what it’s about?”

“Only that it has to do with the safety of the Federation.”

“You trust this person?”

“Absolutely.”

Russel considered the request for a moment. “Where and when?”

“One of the Niburon colonies in two days. And he wanted me to come alone.”

“That’s out of the question.” Kee took a breath to protest but was silenced when Russel continued, “It doesn’t matter who or where, I’m not in the habit of sending anyone into an unknown situation alone. You and Rice will prepare for your trip.”

Kee obediently backed down. Veeso wouldn’t like it, but she’d smooth it over.

* * *

Rice walked into a bar in Settlement 26 along with Ensign Norv. They had traveled here undercover using forged paperwork and false identities. They found a private table with a view of the door to wait for her contact, Veeso.

Patrons of various races came and went. Quite a few of them Bajoran, which wasn’t surprising this close to the border. A Bajoran man walked in and Norv sat up straighter. “That’s him.” He visually scanned the bar, finally spotting her. She stood up and walked over to him, greeting him with a warm embrace.

“It’s good to see you, Kee.” He said to her.

“It’s good to see you too.” She said as she led him back to the table.

Veeso stopped when he saw Rice. “You were supposed to come alone.”

“My captain wouldn’t allow it.”

He regarded Rice with suspicion, but reluctantly sat down. Talking only to Norv, he began. “There’s a man named John Speleers planning to pass information to the Dominion.”

“What sort of information?” She asked with the authority of an officer speaking to a subordinate.

“Starfleet shield frequencies. Ship deployments. Encryption protocols.”

“That’s serious stuff.” Rice broke in. “How did he get ahold of this information?”

“I don’t know. He’s a resourceful man.”

“How do you know all of this?” She said firmly.

“I work for him.” When Rice and Norv reacted to that statement, he quickly explained, “Not anything illegal. But there are parts of his business that are.”

“Ok. Do you know when and where the exchange is going to happen?” She asked.

“Yes.” He palmed a folded piece of paper to her. “It’s all right here.”

She slipped it into her pocket without looking at it and looked at him with concern. “Are you ok?”

“I will be as long as he doesn’t know I was here with you.” With a quick squeeze of her hand he stood up and left.

* * *

The paper Veezo gave her had a time, date and location on it. The name of the Dominion contact would have been helpful, but probably would have been too much to expect. Given the possibility that there was a leak within Starfleet, Captain Russel had opted not to report it to Command just yet. Kee, Rice and Ensign Backlund would go in disguise along with another team consisting of Lieutenant Streck and Ensigns O'Neil and Whitney.

Backlund had all of their equipment laid out for them. “Lieutenant Brisk has modified six type-2 phasers to fit inside Orian and Rutian disrupter casings.” He indicated four small cases, “These are tactical contact lenses. Go ahead and try them out.”

Kee picked up one set. She’d trained with them at the Academy and easily slipped them into her eyes while Rice, Streck and O'Neil did as well. Backlund moved to a mobile interface unit to switch them on. “Walters and I will link up using this unit and another one like it. We’ll be able to track and record the entire operation as well as monitor various sensor modes.”

Menu items and statistics winked into her vision, hovering in the empty space in front of her. Backlund continued, “I’ll be able to show you what each other sees, too.” To demonstrate, frames displaying Main Engineering from different angles replaced the previous interface. He closed out the program and the four security officers pinched the lenses out of their eyes and replaced them into their cases.

Rice picked up the briefing. “Hanolan Colony is an unusual place. During the day it’s as respectable as any Federation colony, but at night you’d think it was Turkana IV. The planet gives off a natural dampening field, so sensors are useless. When we get there we’ll take a couple of days to visually scout the area for the target using the lenses.

“You’ve all received the briefing packet with the individual’s photo and bio. We’ll be waiting for him to make the drop. Top priority is to intercept the package, next is to apprehend Arne Speleers and third track and capture the contact, which may or may not go hand-in-hand with the primary goal. Any questions?” When nobody spoke up he concluded the meeting, “Great we leave at 0600 tomorrow.”

* * *

After having arrived and checked in to their hotel, or, more accurately, their hovel, Backlund immediately began setting up his equipment. Rice and Norv peered out the windows and checked the room over. By the time they were finished, the sun was rising.

Rice and Norv picked up their tactical lenses and set them in their eyes. Backlund called up the program and soon two square frames displaying what each of the two officers saw. From there it was only a matter of walking the streets to look out for their target. And coffee, lots of coffee.

* * *

Kee pressed her body seductively against Rice’s broad chest as he leaned his back against the outside of the dive where their target was expected to meet. She appeared to nuzzle close to his neck while she watched the patrons inside. There were several people sitting alone inside, any one of them could be Speleers’s contact.

“Target is acquired. It’s Speleers.” Rice spoke softly into the comm. “He’s heading this way.”

Speleers walked past the pair and into the bar without noticing them. “I see him.” Kee said with her cheek still pressed against Rice’ scratchy stubble. Speleers sat down at one of the tables. “You getting this?” She asked Backlund.

 _“I see them. Running identification right now.”_ He responded in her ear.

Speleers and his contact exchanged a few words then he reached his hand across the table, palm down. “He’s passing something.” Kee reported. The unidentified contact accepted the item and for a brief moment she could see a sliver of color. “It’s an isoliniar chip, that’s gotta be it.” She fought the urge to rush in and grab the item, forcing herself, instead, to stay in position and wait.

The men exchanged a few more words and Speleers stood and left giving Kee a quick glance down and up on the way out. She kept her eyes on Rice as he walked past, watching the other man out of the corner of her eye.

When Speleers had passed by them, Rice said quietly, “Team two, stay on Speleers.”

A short moment later and the other man stood up, dropped a few pieces of currency on the table and walked toward the door. “Primary target is on the move.” Kee said.

 _“Still no ID on the primary target.”_ Backlund said.

As he passed by them, Rice and Kee moved away from the window and walked casually in the same general direction as their target. Rice slipped his arm around her waist and she leaned against him, remaining in character as long as possible.

They followed him into an alley around the side of the bar where a fight was beginning to break out. Two men wrestled with each other while a raucous group gathered around. The target slipped past the brawl but Rice and Kee couldn’t get through. Finally, Kee let go of Rice and squeezed past by herself.

Kee continued to follow at a distance, “I still have visual on the primary target.” She murmured, winding through the maze of alleyways.

Suddenly a man grabbed her from a side street, wrapping his arms around her waist. “A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be out here all alone.” He said.

Kee tried to slip out of his grip, but it was clear he had other intentions. She turned toward him and slammed her knee into his stomach, then swung her elbow up to smash into his face. He dropped to the ground, doubled over in pain. “A _tus_ bag like you shouldn’t be out here all alone.” She replied as she turned back to follow her target.

Howls of laughter erupted in her earpiece, but the commotion had drawn the attention of her target. He turned and recognized her from the bar then took off running. “Target’s on the run. I’m in pursuit!” She reported as she accelerated to a full sprint. He tipped over storage crates and refuse containers behind him. Dodging them slowed her down, but not enough, she kept on him.

 _“Team two has Speleers in custody.”_ Backlund reported.

He turned down another direction and she rounded the corner behind him but ran right into a stack of crates that he’d pulled over in her path. She lost her footing and tumbled over the mess but tucked and rolled to end up back on her feet, losing only a few seconds.

A little farther down, the alley was blocked by a stretch of fence, which the target scaled like it wasn’t even there. “Any ID on this guy? He’s _fast!_ ” Kee asked between breaths.

 _“Nope.”_ Backlunds disembodied voice replied. _“And Rice is just a little bit behind you.”_

Kee reached the fence and dug her fingers through the mesh, using her momentum, she climbed and swung her legs up and over. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she dashed off behind the target again. Her legs were beginning to burn, but she pushed herself further, faster.

The network of alleyways opened up into a wide plaza with a few people meandering around under the streetlights. The target wound around between them without slowing down. Kee kept on him. At the far end of the plaza a public transportation line was waiting for passengers to load. The target was headed straight for it. Kee pushed faster to close the gap between them before he got there, but she wasn’t fast enough. He skidded into one of the compartments.

Kee rushed in behind him before the doors closed, but he was nowhere to be seen. She pulled open her jacket to reveal her commbadge to the few passengers there and they pointed to the rear of the vehicle. Breathing hard, she rushed to the door at the back where it connected to the compartment behind. As she passed into other she could see the landscape outside shift as the transport began to move. “Did he get off?” She asked into the comm, still working her way from compartment to compartment.

 _“No, he must still be on there.”_ Rice said.

“Copy that.” The dark scenery outside blurred past now that the transport had accelerated to full speed, but with independent gravity plating, the passengers felt nothing.

 _“Backlund, where does that line go?”_ Rice asked.

 _“It goes to the Hanolan Annex Colony to the south. Another transport should arrive in about a minute.”_ Backlund informed him.

“How many compartments does this thing have?” Kee complained. She must have passed through over a dozen, empty except for a passenger here and there.

 _“Getting tired?”_ Rice teased.

“Not a chance.” She said as she entered yet another compartment and saw the target up ahead. “Got him!” She announced and rushed forward, but by the time she followed him into another compartment, the transport had stopped. The doors were open and he was nowhere.

She hurried out and into another plaza similar to the other one but smaller and completely deserted except for one silhouette running away from her. She followed, accelerating to match his speed again. He turned to the side toward an entrance to an underground structure that was pitch black.

 _“That’s another transport line, but it’s shut down. It’s a dead-end.”_ Backlund told her.

The target disappeared into the dark entrance. Kee followed, dashing down the wide staircase into the dark. “Give me EM view.” She asked Backlund.

Her view changed to a colorful display identifying objects around her in the derelict passage. She panned to the left, then to the right before she saw a figure that bolted away. She pursued. The bright colors and swirling shapes in the display would have made it impossible to function had she not spent hours at the Academy training with these things.

Her target darted around a corner. Just as she rounded the corner behind him, an object, his elbow, swung up into her face, knocking her sprawling backwards. He moved to leap on top of her but she rolled to the side at the last moment. She pushed up into a crouch and launched herself at him as he was getting up.

She slammed her body into him at full speed, knocking him back to the ground. He grappled wildly, but she took hold of his wrist, twisted his arm behind him and flipped him over on his stomach. He lurched and twisted, but she tightened her grip on his arm and pressed her knee into his back to keep him pinned down.

With her free hand, she reached behind her to a concealed pocket in her clothes and pulled out a pair of restraints. After cuffing him she patted down his clothes, locating a rectangular item in his pocket. She fished it out just as Rice appeared at the top of the stairs with a flashlight. “Since when did you have a flashlight?” She asked incredulously. “Backlund, switch me back to visual.” Her normal vision returned and she held up the isoliniar chip to Rice’s light.

She pocketed the chip and stood up to finally catch her breath. Now all they had to do was return to Antares with their prisoners and verify the chip. Easy.


	2. I have an assignment for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year: 2376, the last weeks of the dominion war.

Rice stood with Lt. Commander Riggs and Captain Russel in her ready room. Riggs had shown up unannounced with orders for Ensign Norv, earning himself a scowl from the captain. Clearly, she didn’t appreciate one of her officers being commandeered right out from under her any more than Rice did.

The door chimed and she invited the visitor in.

The doors parted for Norv and she had taken a couple of steps in before she saw Riggs and immediately cursed, “ _Fradok!_ ” and turned as though she might walk right out.

“It’s good to see you, too.” Riggs said.

Reluctantly she turned back to the group.

“I have an assignment for you.” He said, then paused for the captain to do her part.

“Ensign, as of right now you are relieved of your duties aboard Antares and are under the sole command of Lt. Commander Riggs.”

“I suppose this is not an optional assignment?” Norv asked.

“Technically it’s optional.” Russel said, glaring at Riggs, “And you may file an official protest, but you are to cooperate with Riggs in the meantime.”

“So, that’s a ‘no’.” She said, clearly unhappy, shooting a glance at Riggs.

“Are we dismissed, Captain?” Riggs said with that annoyingly flat pleasantness that SI agents used.

Russel took her time walking around her desk to sit down before saying, “Dismissed.”

* * *

In the terbolift, Kee spoke freely. “I didn’t expect to see you again.” Actually, she’d hoped not to. She liked him, liked working with him, but working with SI meant secrecy and lies. Not what she had signed on for.

“I didn’t either. That last mission was supposed to be a one-off, but SI was impressed and want to you work for us permanently.”

“Then I suppose you didn’t tell them about our little side adventure.”

“It didn’t affect the outcome of the mission, so I didn’t feel the need to.”

They left the turbolift and walked the short distance to Antares only guest quarters in silence. Once inside Jeff sat down at the table and Kee sat opposite him.

“After this current mission is concluded you’ll continue to serve aboard Antares as an inactive agent until we need you again. Needless to say, you can’t discuss this arrangement with anyone but myself, Captain Russel and Lt. Commander Rice.” He said as though reciting a memorized script.

“I understand. So, what _is_ this mission?”

“SI received a message from someone from a neutral world offering information on the Dominion’s next move. We need to meet with him and bring the information in.”

Kee felt her brow furrow, “And you need _me_ for that?”

“Helpful information doesn’t just randomly pop up from nowhere. I need you because it might be a trap and even if it’s not, we’ll need to verify the information.” He handed her an isoliniar chip. “Here are the details for our cover.”

In all her life, she’d never refused a mission and didn’t intend to now, “I see. And you think it’s a good idea for you and I to work together again?”

“Like you said once before, ‘we’re both adults here’ I think we can handle it.” There was a hotel room back in Kodun’s domed colony that would disagree with that. “Besides, we work well together.” He hesitated and lowered his voice, “There’s one other thing. SI agents can’t be tied down with relationships. They get in the way, cause conflicts. It would be best for you to break it off with Ensign Dales.”

“What?!” She said in disbelief.

“It would be better for him for you to just end it and let him go to move on with his life. And it’s better for you, too. When we’re on mission, I need to know that you’re not worried about coming home to him. It’s a distraction. I know you know this.”

She didn’t want to know it, but she did. She’d intended to live her life solely focused on her job without the distraction of romance, but then she fell for Loren. She’d tried to ignore it, fight it, deny it, but in the end she’d given in, knowing full well she shouldn’t.

“Kee, think of Mal. Any one of us could end up the same way. Few SI agents reach retirement.” He let that sink in for a moment. “It’ll be less painful for him if you end it now.”

A knot formed in her stomach. “Is this an order?”

“No. It’s a request from me, off the record. You and I both know what it means to have attachments when you’re in a dangerous line of work.”

Ren had once tried to tell her the same thing about Traie. She ignored the advice and paid for it.

Finally, he continued. “The sooner the better. We’ll rendezvous with the USS Elkins at 0700 tomorrow.”

* * *

Kee hesitantly put through the subspace link to the Sol system. Loren had been transferred to Earth Planetary Defense about a month ago, making it rare for them to actually be able to speak directly. It seemed like hours before he responded, but when he did, she wished it had taken longer.

Her heart sunk when his handsome face appeared and he greeted her enthusiastically. “Kee!”

She suddenly wasn’t sure what to say.

His smile faded. “What’s wrong?”

 _Do it quickly_ , she told herself. “I…” the words wouldn’t come out, so she forced them, “I have to break up with you.” She made herself look him in the eye. She could see, almost in slow motion, his heart break, crushed by her.

“What? Why?”

“I’m sorry.” She choked out.

“Kee. Why?” He pleaded.

“I can’t…” She desperately wanted to tell him way. She wasn’t sure he’d understand anyway.

“Is there someone else?” He asked, uncertainly.

Of course there was no one else, but that might give him the reason he would need to move on. There was Jeff, of course, so it was only a small stretch of the truth. She couldn’t look him in the eye as she said it. “Yes.” He was silent for a long time and she thought the comm link had frozen. She finally looked at him again. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” He said softly and closed the link without ever looking up.

Kee’s head dropped to the desk and she cried, hard. She couldn’t bear hurting him so badly, but Jeff was right, this would be less painful than dragging out a relationship only for her to show up dead, or worse, just disappear and he’d never know.

* * *

Kee jabbed the keypad to Jeff’s quarters and waited impatiently. When she heard his voice, she didn’t take the time to decipher what he’d said, she just stepped forward to trigger the sensor and entered, fuming. Her hands were balled into fists and she didn’t look him in the eye at first.

“There’s a stack of padds over there if you want to throw something.” He said.

The offer was tempting, but she stormed over to the window instead. After a few moments, she felt him standing near.

“You did the right thing.”

“ _Srak_ , Jeff! I know it was right. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think so!” She shouted. When he didn’t respond, she softened. “I’m sorry. It’s just…” She turned to him, “It was hard not to tell him why.”

“I know. But the less he knows, the better.”

Her temper flared again, “I _know_ how this kind of thing works! I once lost thirteen of my friends in one night because someone talked when they shouldn’t have! I don’t need you point it out!”

“I’m sorry.” He said, genuinely, despite her outburst. “About all of it.” He walked over to the couch and sat down. “I didn’t mean for you to be dragged into this life. If it were up to me, I would have left you alone to live your life on your terms.”

Kee moved to sit next to him without saying anything.

He continued, “They wanted to burn your ties and turn you into a NOC like me, but I couldn’t let them do that to you.”

‘Burn her ties’… did that mean what it sounded like? “I appreciate that.” She said softly, she couldn’t bear the thought of her family and friends thinking she was dead. She wondered for a moment if it would have been a heroic fake death, or an empty one. It didn’t matter.

Jeff broke the silence, “You’ve already given up so much for the safety and security of others, it’s not really fair to ask more of you, but the fact is that we need people like you now more than ever.”

It always came down to that, didn’t it? There was always someone to save, someone to protect, some bad guy to fight. And as long as that was the case, she would step up and do what needed to be done. No matter what the cost to her. She just hated the fact that her duties had spilled over to hurt someone she loved so deeply. Without thought to propriety, she leaned over and rested her head on his chest. Resigning to the fact that he was now her sole confidant.

* * *

Something woke Kee suddenly and she realized she’d been asleep in Jeff’s quarters on the couch. She blinked as she tried to figure out what had woken her. Then her commbadge chirped again. She tapped it. “This is Norv.”

Maggie’s voice came urgently. “Kee! Where are you? You didn’t come home last night!”

“What time is it?”

“0600.”

Kee sat straight up. How could she have slept so late? “I’m sorry, I was with our guest and I guess I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep.”

“Kee…” she heard a warning tone in her friend’s voice.

“Oh! No! It’s not like that. Nothing happened.” _This time_ , she thought. “He’s and old friend.” She tried to formulate a vague explanation, but gave up and decided she’d better tell her about Loren. “Loren and I broke up last night.”

“Oh, Kee! I’m so sorry. Why?”

“I can’t talk about it right now.” Jeff emerged from the bedroom, annoyingly less disheveled than she was. “I have to go.” She told Maggie and shut off the comm link before she could respond. “That was my roommate. She was worried because I didn’t come home.”

* * *

Maggie was going through the tedious process of checking through all of the med kits on the ship to verify the supplies and equipment were in good condition when an alert on the console next to her lit up, indicating a subspace message. She set down what she was working on and tapped the control to open the channel.

Loren’s face appeared on the screen, “Hey, Maggie.”

“Hey, Loren.” She said sympathetically.

“Do you know what’s going on with Kee?” He asked.

“I don’t know, she said that the two of you broke up, but I have no idea why.”

“That makes two of us. All she would say was that there’s someone else. Do you know anything about that?”

That was odd. “No. She hasn’t been with anyone. We had a passenger a couple of days ago, it seemed like she knew him, but she told _me_ nothing was going on.”

Loren frowned. “She’s lying to one of us. She hasn’t returned any of my messages. Could you tell her that I just want to talk?”

“I can’t, actually. She disappeared with the passenger the day after he arrived and we rendezvoused with the Elkins. The captain’s really vague about where she went. Only said something about some kind of training, but I’m worried.”

His frown turned into a scowl, “She breaks up with me with no explanation, lies to one of us or the other then disappears? Something’s not right.”

“No, it’s not, but there’s nothing we can do but hope she’s ok.”

He turned to someone talking to him off-screen and nodded. “I have to go. Let me know as soon as you know anything.”

“I will.” She promised.

* * *

Kee walked alone into a bar on Valeria II wearing an ill-fitting, brown jumpsuit. She glanced down at the unflattering outfit, was Jeff trying to make a point? She did appreciate the boots, though. Tritanium toes, thick tread, leather. Nice. Probably were waterproof, too. She would have loved a pair like this back in the Resistance. She always hated wet feet.

She made her way to a small table in the corner with only one chair. Trying to appear as an exhausted cargo laborer, she slouched her shoulders and rested her head I her hands. When a Valarian waiter came to take her order, she mumbled, “Coffee. Double sweet with cream.”

While waiting for her drink, she scouted the room. There were other real, laborers, exhausted from a hard day’s work, plus a group of business men and several lonely drunks. Any one of them could be an enemy plant, but at the moment, none of them struck her as anything but what they appeared to be. She watched them cautiously anyway.

Just after her drink arrived, Jeff meandered in, looking much like those business men, but not quite so well-off. He sat at a central table and, through her earpiece, she heard him order a drink.

Byt the time the waiter brought it to him, an exceptionally tall Valarian walked in and headed straight for him, sitting down without a word.

 _“You're a long way from Neethia III.”_ She heard him begin the challenge/response code through her earpiece.

 _“Trade opportunities in that sector are drying up.”_ The Valarian replied correctly.

 _“Perhapse Fellebia I would be a better bet.”_ One more challenge code.

 _“I will attempt to acquire a laser fusion initiator there as you suggest.”_ The Valarian passed the test.

_“Now that that’s worked out, I believe you have something for me?”_

_“I have come to tell you that the Dominion has been in secret negotiations with the Breen for several weeks now.”_

A sense of dread as cold as the Breen homeworld itself crawled down her spine. If the Breen allied themselves with the Dominion, that could turn the balance of power in the war.

 _“Do you have evidence of this?”_ Jeff asked coolly.

The Valarian scoffed, _“I would have thought the chances of this being true would outweigh any of that.”_

_“Command will not risk pulling ships off of the front lines based on a rumor.”_

_“There’s more. Once these negotiations are complete, their first strike on behalf of the Dominion will be Starfleet Headquarters on Earth.”_

Kee’s earpiece was silent for long moments. Finally, Jeff found words and his calm voice broke through, _“You expect me to believe that the Breen are going to attack earth, and you have no evidence?”_ It was almost unthinkable that they would be so brazen. Not even the Klingons had attempted something like that in the centuries of hostilities and outright war between them.

_“It is what I said and it is the truth.”_

_“The Valarians are neutral, why risk yourself to bring us this information?”_

_“We do business with the Federation, we do business with the Cardassians, but we do not wish to do business with the Dominion.”_ He stood up. _“I have delivered the information. Go, track down your evidence, do as you wish.”_ With that he walked out of the bar.

Without so much as a peek at her, Jeff downed the rest of his drink. Wishing the alcohol would give him a buzz, no doubt. He dropped some coins onto the table and walked out.

Kee watched the bar patrons closely to be sure none of them made a move to follow him. None did. After a few more minutes, she left money and followed him out.

Outside, she stuffed her hands into her pockets and sauntered along the avenue. Nobody expected the Breen to openly attack the Federation, let alone Earth itself. She was afraid the Dominion would go after Bajor and had watched in horror while they had positioned themselves to occupy the area long-term. The relief when Starfleet retook the station was subdued by the fact that Bajor continued to live under a constant threat since then. But Earth… it didn’t seem possible. And Loren… he’d certainly be deployed the moment the attack began. Even after breaking up with him, she couldn’t bear the thought of losing him. She’d been so intent on saving him from the pain of losing her, thinking he was safe on Earth.

She had to force herself not to break into a run. They had to get this information to Command as quickly as possible, but hurrying would open them up to stupid mistakes. The stakes were too high, they couldn’t afford to slip up.

After what seemed like an eternity, she reached the port where their modified Kobheerian long-range shuttle sat with the hatch open. She slipped inside to find Jeff already through most of the launch preparations.

“You catch all of that?” He asked without looking up.

“Yep. How long before we take off?”

“Another five minutes. Plot a course that skirts Breen territory. We need to find a subspace relay or communications outpost or some way we can verify this intel. And after that, I want you to get a feel for a rout home. Avoid Tzenkethi space if possible, but we’ll go right through their back door if we have to.”

She called up star charts for this region and began studying the edges of Breen territory, marking several likely locations for the type of equipment he was looking for based on known base locations. Their best bet would be in the unclaimed territory between Breen and Cardassian space. If there was any corroborating evidence, it would be there. She plotted a meandering path between the two territories in the general direction of Tholian space, zigzagging from outpost to outpost, taking them as close to the Breen communication network as possible. Then she quickly submitted it to Port Operations for permission to lift off.

In order to backtrack, they’d have to squeeze back through the narrow no-mans-land. But, even then, Tzenkethi territory would be between them and Earth. Although, they didn’t necessarily need to get back to Earth, or even to the Federation itself. If they could at least reach one of the Bajoran colonies, Freehaven perhaps, they could get a message through.

* * *

Jeff piloted their little shuttle cautiously, searching for the Breen subspace relay that had to be here somewhere. They’d left their approved flight plan hours ago. If anyone came across them, it would be difficult to pass this off as a navigational error.

“Still nothing on sensors.” Kee reported. They’d conducted their search in near silence, only speaking when necessary. One thing he appreciated about her was the fact that, when it came down to it, she was absolutely professional… except for the occasional curse.

“Hang on,” She spoke up again, “I’m picking up something just on the edge of long-range sensors.”

“Could it be the relay?”

She didn’t answer right away, studying the sensor readout, “I doubt it. At that range, it’s got to be something bigger than a relay.” Her forehead furrowed on either side of her nasal ridges, “And it’s moving… fast. It’s a Jem’hadar ship.”

“In Breen space?”

“Looks like it.”

“Can you tell if they’ve spotted us?”

She shook her head, “They haven’t altered course.”

He quickly thought through their options. This was an empty section of space, no planets to hide behind, no asteroids, no debris, not even a speck of dust. So… they would become a piece of debris. “Shut down everything but passive sensors. Including life support.” He told her and began shutting down the propulsion system. Just before he was finished, he gave a gentle nudge with the thrusters to send them on a random path.

The lights winked off and he felt his stomach lift as the gravity went offline. He hooked his feet around the base of his chair and peered out of the forward aperture as though he’d be able to see the Jem’hadar ship himself.

“They’re maintaining what looks like a patrol course.” Kee said softly. “We should be within their sensor range by now.”

He stood ready to punch the propulsion systems back online in case they had to make a run for it. He was sure it took hours, but the chronometer indicated it was only minutes.

“They’ve scanned us.” She said.

At this range, they shouldn’t be able to pick up their life signs. But he waited anxiously anyway. He avoided peeking over at her console. _Let her do her job, you do yours._ He told himself. The temperature had already dropped low enough that he could see his breath.

“They have not altered course. Continuing to follow the Breen border.” She informed him, still focusing intently on the sensors. After another long silence, she said, “They’ve moved back out of sensor range.”

He breathed a puff of condensed air, “Bring all systems back online.” The interior immediately warmed and gravity returned while he reactivated the propulsion systems. “There’s got to be a relay here somewhere.”

“We’ll find it.” She assured him. But the question was, would they find it soon enough?

* * *

Kee continually scanned the area for Jem’hadar or Breen ships while Jeff maneuvered the ship into docking position with the Breen subspace relay. Finding the thing had been like locating a white hara cat in a snowstorm.

A mechanical shudder passed through the ship as it connected with the relay. Once the maglocks were secure she stood up to access the hatch in the floor of the rear compartment. When the hatch controls blinked blue (the Kobheerian color for “good”) she bent down and tapped the key to open it. The doors opened to reveal a space just large enough for one person to crouch in, the floor of which was the relative top of the relay.

Kee scanned the relay’s hatch with her tricorder to check for security systems and found none, so she jumped down into the space. As she knelt down to inspect the locking mechanism, she heard Jeff move overhead, waiting. She tried a few simple bypass methods with no luck, then looked up at him. “Toss me an interface remote.”

He already had the piece of equipment in his hand and dropped it down to her. She placed the fob on top of the lock controls and it automatically connected itself to it. The tricorder then connected with the remote and began the process of overriding the lock. She shifted in the cramped space while it worked, wanting to be done and out of this part of space as quickly as possible.

Finally, the tricorder beeped approvingly and the hatch dropped down in front of her. She moved to the side to find the ladder and climbed down. As Jeff climbed down behind her, she surveyed the small space. There was a single console with a full-wall display behind it. Not much room for them to work in, maybe a meter or two of empty space all the way around the console, then the exterior bulkhead and empty space beyond that. If ever she was going to feel claustrophobic, it would be now.

Jeff moved to the console and began the process of breaking in. There was a possibility that there would be a record of the actual transmissions this relay had broadcast, but only a remote one. More likely, all they’d find would be a log file with the origin and destination of the transmissions. But if there were enough messages into and out of Dominion territory, that might be enough for Command to believe the report.

While he worked, Kee kept a close eye on her tricorder. She’d routed their shuttle’s sensors to the tricorder to alert them if any ships came within sensor range, but it was quiet outside for now.

Jeff let out a frustrated noise, which was extremely unusual for him to do. “I’ve tried every Breen decryption protocol SI has. Nothing!” He ran his hand through his hair, which only bounced back to its normal position. “There’s one more thing I can try, but it’ll take a while.” He bent down to remove the panel on the front of the console and reached inside.

Kee continued her vigil over the sensors when suddenly an alarm started blaring.

He looked up at her, “I think I tripped an alarm!” He shouted sarcastically over the sound that seemed to be amplified by the small space.

“Ya, think?” She called back. “Work fast!” She needlessly suggested. But faster than she would have imagined, a blip appeared on her tricorder. “Already?” She asked no one, but said to Jeff, “We’ve got company!” She watched the blip close on their position until it was close enough for their sensors to identify it. “It’s Jem’hadar!” Could they really be that far into negotiations that the Jem’hadar would respond to an alert on a Breen subspace relay?

All she could do was wait and watch while the Jem’hadar ship approached. Hopefully the small space would limit how many troops they could beam over at once to the number she could take on. She closed her tricorder and pulled out her phaser, knowing it would be nearly useless, but it was all she had.

No sound traveled in space, but the electromagnetic field from the Jem’hadar ship made her hair stand on end as it came to a stop near the relay. The alarm continued to sound and Jeff’s entire torso had disappeared inside the console while Kee waited and listened for a transporter.

She didn’t have to wait long. Two Jem’hadar materialized side-by-side with their kar’takins raised and ready. Kee managed to shoot one of them just as transport was complete. His kar’takin clanged loudly against the floor.

The second one rushed at her with his blade slicing through the air. She ducked sideways, he narrowly missed her hand but the blade sliced through her phaser like it was a piece of fruit. She dropped the remains of her phaser and immediately had to dodge a second swipe. The cramped space actually made her smaller, agile size more of an advantage over his bulk.

She sidestepped again and found that they’d completely reversed positions. He swung again at stomach level and she moved to step back but tripped over the one she’d shot. She found herself on the floor, centimeters from the first one’s kar’takin, she grabbed it.

She lifted the weapon just as he was swinging his down on her, but she managed to deflect it as she rolled to the side and back onto her feet.

She vaguely felt blood trickle down her eyebrow along the side of her face from her forehead. _Better be faster next time._ She told herself.

He attacked again and again and each time she deflected it with a metallic clank. She’d not only trained with these extensively back at the Academy, but she’d tutored other cadets on the technique.

With her back up against the opposite side of the console from where Jeff was still working, the Jem’hadar swung his kar’takin in an upward motion so hard that when she deflected the blow, she was thrown backward over the console. She tumbled back and fell to the floor, barely missing Jeff’s prone legs.

She bounded back to her feet and moved quickly around the console, charging toward her foe. She jabbed forward with her kar’takin, lodging the tip inside the opening of his, then she rotated and wrenched it to the side.

With her blade firmly embedded in his, she spun around and jerked the weapon out of his grasp. With hers free now, she flipped it over and jammed it backwards under her arm to slice it deep into his abdomen. She turned, yanked it free and swung to slice through his ketracel-white tube and throat.

Another Jem’hadar beamed in a moment later. Kee barely waited for him to materialize, then buried the bloody kar’takin into his neck.

Before another could beam in, the tricorder she’d set up on the console began to beep. She snatched it up to glance at the readout. “We have another Jem’hadar ship coming in!” Shouting over the klaxon, she stuffed the tricorder into her pocket and raised her weapon as another Jem’hadar began to materialize. His weapon was already in motion and he rushed at her the moment transport was complete.

She deflected the strike, but she was beginning to weaken. She couldn’t keep this up for much longer. “Jeff! Give it up! We have to go!”

Finally, he pulled himself out and grabbed the kar’takin that had fallen to the floor next to him when she killed the other one and together they managed to push this one back. This time, Jeff dealt the final blow, slicing the tip of the kar’takin across the enemy’s throat with a quick movement.

“Go!” She shouted at him and he climbed up the ladder with her only a rung behind him as the sound of the transporter began again. When he was at the top, he reached down and lifted her the rest of the way up. Through the hatch, she saw the business-end of a kar’takin slice through the air right where her legs had been a moment ago.

She hastily closed the hatch while he prepared to flee. By the time she dropped into her seat, he was already pulling away at such a sharp angle that the inertial dampers couldn’t keep up and she was pressed sideways into her console. 

“They’re jamming comms.” She informed him.

As he pushed the little ship to its limit, she charged weapons, even though they would have little effect on ships like that. They might at least be able to slow them down a bit. She fired a full torpedo spread behind them and phasers at the second ship, which was coming in from Cardassian space.

“Unless we can get more speed, that second ship is going to force us deeper into Breen territory.” He told her.

“Got any ideas?”

“Actually, I do. Take the conn.” He stood and headed to the rear compartment without waiting for confirmation.

Kee switched her console over to a navigation configuration and did a quick eval of the enemy ships’ locations, speed and trajectories and noted their own speed of warp 6.8. He was right, if they deviated at all away from Breen space, the second one would be on them in minutes. She confirmed that the engines were running at maximum and all available power had been diverted. She could only hope whatever he had planned could push the little ship a lot faster.

Suddenly every instrument maxed out and the console erupted with warning lights and alarms. Despite the chaos, she saw that they had pushed past warp 7 and were nearly at 7.2, giving her enough of a lead to angle away from Breen territory, but not quite enough to make it to the Federation. They were now headed straight towards Ferengi space. Just then, Jeff reappeared and took his seat.

“What did you do?!” She demanded.

“I bypassed the emergency cutoff and opened up the flow regulators.”

“You can’t dump that much raw antimatter into the intermix chamber!”

He shrugged, “Apparently, I can.”

She could only shake her head, she was sure he’d just broken a heap of engineering safety regulations. “I thought _I_ was the reckless one.”

“I must be picking up some bad habits.”

She checked the display. “They’re still gaining on us, but we should at least reach Ferengi space before they overtake us… if your hack holds.” She reported then passed the conn back to him.

No sooner had she done so than a proximity alert sounded. “We’ve got ships up ahead. A lot of them.” The computer indicated a jumble of unidentified ships.

“Are they ours or theirs?”

“Standby.” She said as she waited for them to come into sensor range. After agonizing seconds the computer began applying identifications to each dot on the display and she looked over at Jeff. “They’re Breen.”

“Massing for an attack.” He concluded, sending a chill down her spine.

One ship broke off from the fleet. “They’ve spotted us and are heading right for us.” Then she checked the status of the Jem’hadar ships, they were slowing down, boxing them in to allow the Breen to take care of them.

“I’m taking evasive maneuvers. If they’re going to take us, they’ll have to chase us down first.” He said. She could appreciate that, but it wasn’t much of a chase. The Breen ship was on top of them within seconds.

Kee began firing at them the moment they came within weapons range, but it was no use, they were far out matched. Sensors informed her they were charging weapons and she braced for the onslaught. Instead of torpedoes pounding the hull, the ship barely rocked. Instead electricity began arcing across their consoles and all around the interior of the ship.

They both jumped back from their consoles to avoid being electrocuted, helpless to do anything but watch whatever was happening to their ship.

When the power surges had stopped, they found themselves in almost complete darkness with every system dead and all panels dark. They peered out the port hatch to see the Breen ship returning to his fleet and that they were careening end over end in the direction they’d last been heading.

She dropped back down into her chair, at least the gravity was still working, but the rotation of the ship was already twisting her stomach. “Now what?”

* * *

Drifting in space, they had plenty of time to tend to the wound on her forehead. It bled badly, but was only superficial. A dermal regenerator made quick work of it, but she was still finding dried blood caked in her hair.

The temperature had dropped fast and Jeff rigged up a power coil with the power source from a tricorder as a small space heater so they at least wouldn’t freeze. Kee went back to check for food in the emergency supplies. Away from the heat, the entire aft compartment was covered in a layer of frost. It couldn’t be much above -20º C back here. Before her fingers froze, she found two emergency food packets and hurried back to the heat.

She tossed one to Jeff and settled down into her seat next to the heater, propping her feet on her useless console.

“I wonder if these things have an expiration date.” He mused.

She looked and found one. “Stardate 52684.3.” That was next week. The two of them could only laugh and tear open their meal.

She wondered if those Breen ships had left for Earth yet and tried not to think about Loren having to face them.

After she’d picked about half of her ration apart, Jeff asked without sarcasm, “So, what is it that you religious people do in a situation like this? Pray, I suppose?”

Kee couldn’t help but laugh a little, “When you figure that out, let me know.” After another bite she said, “To be honest, I rarely pray for help. I figure the Prophets’ plan is the Prophets’ plan and whatever happens to me is up to them.”

“I don’t think I could ever give up control of my life like that.”

“Control has never been mine to give up. I’ve been in some bad situations and survived them all. I can’t take credit for that. I’m not _that_ good. As long as there’s a purpose for my life, the Prophets will guide me through anything. And if they don’t, that’s ok too.” She sighed, “I only worry about those who will be in danger if we can’t warn Command.”

Jeff let the matter drop, there was no use fretting over what they couldn’t control. “There’s one thing I’ve always wondered.” He said in a lighter tone. “When someone dies, you say they ‘walk with the Prophets.’”

“Right.”

“But I’ve heard religious officials tell people ‘walk with the Prophets’. Isn’t at like saying they want them to die?”

Kee though for a moment, puzzled by the question, then she compared the two languages and laughed. “Oh, that’s a translation peculiarity. In Bajoran, there’s a different word for walking in life versus walking in death, but the universal translator renders them both as the same word in Standard.”

Jeff nodded, finishing a bite of his ration. “That explains a lot.”

Kee suppressed a yawn and wondered for a moment how much oxygen was left. “You know, there’s a saying back home: If you plant _trakas_ , don’t expect katterpods.”

He gave a confused expression, “Is that sort of like ‘you reap what you sew’?”

“Maybe.” She smiled. “It’s a warning that if you put forth a falsehood, it’ll come back around to you.” When he didn’t respond, she explained. “We played dead only a few hours ago, and now here we are, drifting in space.”

He smiled wryly and nodded, “Ah, more like the boy who cried wolf, then.”

Kee thought she’d heard that expression once. Despite the improvised heating unit, Kee shivered. “I miss my uniform.”

“These don’t quite have the same engineering, do they? Starfleet uniforms _are made of advanced synthetic polymers designed for comfort even in the most extreme environments._ ”

She let out a snort of laughter, “Sounds like a Vulcan wrote it.”

“Probably did.” He said snickering.

Suddenly the cabin lit up with a bright orange light and the ship lurched to a stop. Jeff craned his neck to look out one of the ports while Kee grabbed a tricorder and scanned the area outside. “It’s a tractor beam.” She scanned farther to locate the source, expecting a Jem’hadar or Breen ship, but relaxed when she saw the identity of the ship that was holding them. “It’s Ferengi. They’re pulling us in.”

* * *

Jeff waited for the materialization process to complete and found himself looking down into the face of a Ferengi who looked him up and down.

“Who are you?” The Ferengi demanded.

“My name is James Mullen.” Jeff said, using his alias. “This is my bodyguard Udri Alrez.”

The Ferengi shot Kee a momentary lecherous grin. No doubt he’d make some kind of advance towards her at some point, but that didn’t worry him, Kee could handle herself.

“My name is Lag. My people detected your ship adrift and your life support nearly depleted.” He said with the manor of someone in a position of complete power. “Of course, we expect payment for rescuing you.”

Jeff patted his pockets and pulled out his last few coins. “Sorry, this is all I have.”

Lag snatched the money out of his hand, “I will accept your shuttle as compensation. What’s left of it, anyway.” He said with a smug, toothy smile.

“It’s yours.” He conceded.

“We’ll drop you off at the nearest outpost and you can barter your way from here.” He began to turn away to leave the two to his subordinates, but Jeff stopped him.

“Actually, we’re in a bit of a hurry. Is there any way you could take us closer to to Federation space? Or perhaps get a message through to Starfleet?”

Lag laughed loudly, “This is not a passenger barge!” But as his laughter died down he said, “If you had some money or something to trade, perhaps we could be persuaded to go out of our way, but it seems to me I already have everything of yours.” He turned away again, tossing the coins in his hand.

“What about information?”

That piqued his curiosity, “What sort of information?”

“Lethean _Rajuc_ Beans.” An illegal substance that was both a strong narcotic and currently the focus of a major crackdown by the Federation.

Lag was clearly excited but trying to hide it. “That could prove useful… that and perhaps a payment of service.”

Jeff eyed him suspiciously. “What did you have in mind?”

Lag reached around to place a hand behind Jeff’s shoulder and began guiding him toward the door, “Let’s discuss those _Rajuc_ beans first.”

* * *

“He wants me to do what??” Kee demanded. She’d been taken to guest quarters by one of Lac’s workers while Jeff and Lac had worked out a deal. Despite Jeff’s best attempts, Lac would not give them access to communications, but would take them as far as the nearest Ferengi outpost on the Federation border. Kee had stripped off the jacket of her jumpsuit down to a white tanktop and was working on cleaning off the blood that had smudged on the shoulder from her battle with the Jem’hadar.

Jeff did his best to avert his eyes from her noticeable cleavage. “He has a client who’s having some kind of payment issues and he wants my ‘bodyguard’ to help him collect on the debt.”

“How am I supposed to do that? I’m not an accountant.”

“He wants you to accompany his to meet with the client and… rough him up a bit.”

“Like I’m just some kind of thug?”

“Pretty much.”

“Me?” She said incredulously "I'm a tiny person."

“You're taller than most Ferengi. And trust me, you can be pretty intimidating.” He shrugged, “I’ll make it an order if I have to.”

She sighed, finally resigned, “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I signed up for Starfleet.”

* * *

Kee walked protectively behind Lac as the approached his client’s office. This was her job and she would do her best. So far they’d been permitted to continue without the need for her persuasion and only a little bribery, which seemed so natural to him that it must be some normal part of everyday life for Ferengi.

She was, at least, glad to be out of that awful brown jumpsuit. Lac had _graciously_ given her access to a commodities replicator to fabricate some new clothes. She was surprised to find a pattern in the database for sensible, close-fitting but not tight, black combat wear. Something that would look like she meant business but also encourage the Ferengi to keep their hands to themselves. It had a few too many straps and buckles for her taste, but it was better than any other female clothing patterns she found. She’d kept the boots from before, though. She _liked_ them.

“His name is Trok. He owes me fifty-seven bars of latinum, plus interest.”

“For what?”

“It doesn’t matter what it’s for. All you need to do is get him to pay it. You do your job, I’ll handle the rest.”

They silently passed rows of desks with Ferengi peons hard at work on their consoles or deep in conversations over the comm lines. It was surprisingly quiet, though, considering how many of them were talking all over the room.

When they reached a wide, circular door, Lac dropped in a slip of latinum and the door immediately opened. Kee had to duck slightly under the doorway to follow him inside. It was strange to be the tall one in the room for once.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve showing your lobes around here, Lac!” The Ferengi behind the desk said hostilely.

“Me? I’m not the one refusing to pay on a contract.”

“The merchandise you delivered was sub-par.” He said with a sneer. “I couldn’t even sell it at cost!”

“Then you should inspect the goods before you sign a contract next time. Satisfaction is not guaranteed.”

Kee signed inwardly. The safety of Federation citizens was on the line and she was stuck here babysitting a couple of Ferengi in the middle of a contract dispute.

“It cost me forty-six bars of latinum to get rid of that junk. That plus interest came out of what I was contractually obligated to pay you.”

“You charged _me_ interest? I’m charging _you_ interest!”

Kee had had enough, she grabbed Trok by his lapels and lifted him out of his seat to hold him up to her face. He squeaked in terror. “I suggest you pay what Lac says you owe him.” She told him.

“You don’t understand!” He pleaded, dropping all pretense. “The merchandise…”

She gave him a little jerk, “He doesn’t pay me to understand, he pays me to get him his money.” She held his gaze, “Now, is he going to get his money or am I going to have to intervene?”

“I’ll get it! I’ll get it!”

“Today.”

“Today.” He agreed. “It’ll be transferred by the time you get back to your ship.” He said to Lac over her shoulder.

Kee smiled sweetly and lowered him gently back into his chair, smoothing out the front of his jacket. “I’m so glad we could reach an agreement.” Then she turned followed Lac out.

As they walked back through the rows of workers, some were staring at them, some purposely avoided looking her way. As soon as they were out in a public space and heading back to the ship, Lac said, “Whatever he’s paying you, I’ll double it.” He grasped her hand and threaded it inside his elbow.

She resisted the urge to deck him then and there, instead simply allowing him to lead the way to the ship.

“Throw in some oo-mox and I’ll triple it." He added.

* * *

“I don’t blame him.” Jeff said. “If I were in his place, I’d want to hire you, too. He could extort money from all sorts of characters.”

“We’ll call that a backup plan for when I inevitably tick off the wrong admiral and get myself court marshaled.”

“When that happens, I’ll be right there with you.” He tapped his fist against her shoulder with a laugh.

In the silence that followed, Kee thought about the starships near the Sol system, the inhabitants in the various locations there, Earth’s planetary defense, Loren. They had no idea what was coming. “How long do you think it’ll take that fleet to reach Earth?”

Jeff sighed as he thought, “If their ships are comparable to ours, and they take a direct route, I’d say six and a half days.”

“That only gives us another three days to get our message out.”

“It’ll be tight.” He agreed. “Did he give _you_ any indication of where he intends to drop us off?”

Kee made a negative sound in her throat.

“Well, if he’s interested in your employment, at least that makes it unlikely that he’ll double cross us.”

“First good news we’ve had since starting on this mission.”

* * *

It had been another two days on the Ferengi ship without arriving at any destination. She’d improved her ability to wait in tense situations over the years, but she’d never liked it. Lac wouldn’t allow them to wander about the ship, so they’d occupied their time with Jeff going over SI procedures and protocols with her. That’s when it really began to sink in that this was going to be part of her career now. And Jeff her permanent partner.

That last part had potential to become problematic. She’d begun feeling that attraction to him like before. Not as strongly, but it was definitely there. She found her mind straying from their task. What was it about him that kept doing this to her? She would have to work harder to make sure they didn’t have a repeat of last time.

Suddenly Jeff looked up. “We’ve dropped out of warp.”

She hadn’t noticed at all, one of those little differences between people who grew up planet-side versus on a starship. They both stood up, expecting that they’d arrived somewhere near or on the Federation border. But when the door opened, two Ferengi entered with their weapons drawn and Lac right behind. They all stayed wisely out of reach.

He didn’t look happy. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

Kee and Jeff only looked at each other.

“The Jem’hadar are looking for two people, a Humon and a Bajoran, aboard a Kobheerian shuttle. Does that sound familiar? Now I won’t be able to sell that shuttle for scrap after all. And the Jem’hadar will tear my ship apart looking for you. There’s no reasoning with a Jem’hadar! Did you know, they don’t even take bribes?!”

Jeff held up his hands to calm the man, “Look. We did have a run in with the Jem’hadar, but I promise, we didn’t know they were looking for us. They left us adrift to die in space, why would they be looking for us now?”

“I don’t know, but apparently they are. I’m cancelling our agreement and I’m dropping you off at the nearest M-class planet and if the Jem’hadar catch up with me, I will _not_ risk my ship to protect you.” He said with a sneer, then tossed a bag of the remaining emergency rations from their shuttle at Jeff. “Here, we have no use for your disgusting Humon food.” Then before either of them could argue he said into his comm unit, “Energize.”

A moment later the two of them materialized on the surface of an empty, barren world. A wave of heat enveloped her as she shaded her eyes from a very large and very close sun.

“We can’t stay on the surface.” Jeff said.

Kee pulled out the tricorder with her free hand and flipped it open to scan for any underground structures. She had to angle the screen away from the sun to be able to read it. “There’s a network of old lava tubes below us.” She continued scanning for another moment, “There should be an opening over there.” She indicated an area to her left and Jeff headed that way without questioning it.

“Watch your step,” She called to him, “It’s right in front of you.”

He crouched down at the edge of a fissure in the rock, judging the distance, then handed her the bag of rations and jumped down inside. Kee waited a moment and tossed the bag down to him then followed him in.

The tunnel was dark as they moved away from the opening, and it was still very hot in here. They’d have to move down a few more levels to get to a tolerable temperature. “Remember a few days ago when we were so cold?” She mused.

She couldn’t see him, but could hear a slight chuckle echo through the tube. Using the tricorder as not only a scanner but a flashlight, they located another opening to a lower tunnel and proceeded downward. “So, what now?” She finally asked, “All we have is this tricorder and there’s no way even the best engineer would be able to use it to get out of this place.”

In the dim light from the tricorder she could see him wipe the sweat from his brow thoughtfully. “I don’t know. Right now we just need to get out of this heat.”

* * *

They had to have been winding their way through these caves for hours. The temperature was better, and the rock didn’t seem to be interfering with the tricorder, so at least that was going in their favor. They had decided to descend one more level then rest for a bit. She’d detected a larger cavern just ahead. There was no passage to climb down through, so Jeff found a large rock, lifted it up and smashed it against the floor. The ground of this tunnel didn’t give way, but the tricorder registered fractures, so he tried again. This time it broke through, revealing the cavern below them.

Kee dropped through first and when her boots hit the floor of the cavern, something didn’t sound right. She stomped a foot, it was hollow, definitely not rock. Jeff lowered himself down and she said, “Listen to this.” Then she stomped a few more times.

He copied her to feel for himself, “This isn’t rock. What does the tricorder say?”

“Nothing, it says it’s the same volcanic rock we’ve been walking on all along.”

Jeff bent down to brush unknown years’ worth of debris from below them down to something smooth. Kee tipped the tricorder over to shine its light onto the surface as he cleared more debris from what was clearly a manufactured material. Finally, he uncovered some long, rectangular alien markings and he looked up at her. “It’s Promellian! A battle cruiser, I think.”

“Promellian?” She repeated, could it really be that old? The Promellians disappeared from history a thousand years ago.

Jeff stood up excitedly, looking back and forth, seeming to compare the marking with the portion of the ship he’d uncovered, then began moving away from her. “There should be a hatch back here.”

“Wait. How would you know that?”

He turned around for a moment, “I had one of these when I was a kid! Only it was about this big.” He held up his hands about half a meter apart and turned back to keep going.

She tried the tricorder again, but it still only read it as rock. The hull must have been reflecting the surrounding material.

“Ah ha!” He said and she followed the sound of his voice. There were creaking sounds as he wrested the locking mechanism open. “Give me a hand.”

Kee set down the tricorder and bag of rations and knelt down to help. Together they heaved the hatch open to be greeted by a waft of thick, putrid air. Letting the hatch clang loudly open she grabbed the tricorder. “It’s alright, the air is breathable, just stale.” She said, but he was already half way into the opening. She enjoyed one more breath of clean air before following him down.

He walked carefully down the corridor as though it were a museum, reaching out to almost touch the walls, but not quite. Now that they were inside, the tricorder could read the interior. “Watch your step, there’s a body up ahead.”

Soon the desiccated remains came within the dim light of the tricorder and they stepped carefully around it.

“The model I had as a child had a couple of shuttles that could dock in the bay. Can you tell if the shuttles are still here?”

She lifted the tricorder in the direction he indicated. “It looks like it. But there’s no way they’d still work.”

“They might not, but if we can run power from the tricorder, maybe we’d at least be able to get the comms up.”

It was worth a try, so she followed him toward the shuttle bay. They came across a couple more bodies and stepped around them as carefully as they did the first one, then finally reached the doors to the bay. Together they pried, shoved and pulled the doors open to reveal a large chamber. The doorway led onto a raised platform midway up the wall of the bay with a staircase down to the main floor.

Right in the middle of the room sat two grey shuttles. One, however, had been smashed by a beam that had given way either during the crash or sometime after. That would reduce their chances of finding a working comm unit.

Jeff walked straight to the undamaged shuttle without a word and circled around, looking for a hatch. “There should be a manual release around here somewhere.” He continued his circuit until he located what he was looking for. “Ah, here.”

She shined the light in front of him and he worked to pry off the panel. He nearly lost his footing when the panel gave way. She was relieved to see a mechanical release lever, which would work without power unlike a computerized one.

He grabbed the lever and pulled hard. It didn’t budge. He braced his foot against the side and pulled again. Still nothing.

Kee set the tricorder down nearby and reached in to help, wrapping her hands around his. At his count of three they pulled together and it slowly began to angle outward. They continued pulling side-by-side until the lever suddenly released with a heavy, mechanical clunk. Both of them stumbled and Kee fell backwards against his arm that he had reached around behind her waist to steady her.

When they had regained their footing, they saw the hatch hanging open. Jeff opened it the rest of the way and she bent down to retrieve the tricorder and followed him in.

* * *

Their first attempt to run power to the comm unit from the tricorder had failed with a spectacular shower of hot sparks. They’d blown the power relay and after a quick meal break to clear their heads, Jeff had sent Kee out to see if she could extract one from the other shuttle. She used a flair she’d found that had just enough of a chemical reaction left to give off a soft light to see by.

The beam that had destroyed the other shuttle did, at least, succeed in tearing the shuttle open to expose the interior. All she had to do was climb inside over the broken pieces of hull. She located the panel where she knew she’d find the power relay and set to work extracting it using a tool kit stowed nearby, just like in the other shuttle.

It seemed insane to try to run an entire comm unit off of something as small as a tricorder, but Jeff had pointed out that these ancient ships used far less power overall. He, at least, seemed confident they could make it work.

By the time she’d removed the equipment, her hands and clothes were filthy from a combination of lubricant and dust, but she simply gathered up the similarly dirty tools with the relay, grabbed the flair and climbed out of the wreck.

Back inside the intact shuttle she approached Jeff, who’s head was invisible under the communications console.

“Here’s the relay.”

He reached out blindly without looking up at her and she placed it in his hand. “I need you to salvage about two meters of cable from somewhere. The lights, maybe.”

She looked around and selected a lighting fixture that looked easy to disassemble and began removing pieces. “How do you plan to keep that power relay from blowing this time?”

“I think it happened because we were trying to bring only one system online and that caused a feedback surge in the power system.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” She said slowly, “So, what do we do about it?”

“We’re going to bring the whole thing online.” He stood up, moved to another access panel in the wall and threaded his torso inside.

“You can’t be serious! A comm unit is one thing, but you can’t run a shuttle’s entire power grid off of a tricorder’s power supply.”

“I don’t need to.” He said, his voice muffled. “All the tricorder has to do is jumpstart the Lang Cycle Fusion power core in this thing and the whole system should come online.”

Kee was speechless and could only shake her head as she pulled a length of cable free of the wall. She stepped closer and placed the cable in his outstretched hand.

“Ok,” He said, “I need you to do two things for me. First, keep an eye on the tricorders’ readout and the moment the core is online, cut the power transfer.”

She picked up the tricorder, which now had most of its casing removed and six separate cables attached to it. “And second?” She prompted.

“See if you can find some kind of fire suppression, in case this whole junction bursts into flames in my face.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that.” She said, intentionally absent-mindedly as she began to search for an extinguisher. “If that thing goes up, you’d be dead before I could do anything. And at that point, I might as well just let you burn, that way the remains would be much easier to deal with.”

He finally pulled his head out of the panel to look at her. “Wow, Kee. That was really dark.”

She laughed proudly as she found what she was looking for and pulled it from its mount on the wall.

He moved back into position, “I’m ready to try this as soon as-” The whole ship shook, cutting off the rest of his sentence. “I thought this planet wasn’t seismically active anymore.”

“It’s not.” The ground shook again and she listened more carefully this time. “That’s weapon’s fire.”

“I think you’re right.”

“Lac. The Jem’hadar must have tracked him down.” She picked up the tricorder and switched over to scanning mode as the shaking continued. “I’m picking up two Jem’hadar ships in orbit. They’re jamming communications.”

Jeff pulled himself from the opening again and sat with his forearms on his knees. “That rules out sending a signal from here, then.” He thought for a moment, “Let’s get this thing started up, then we can see what we have to work with.” With that he moved back inside the bulkhead.

Kee switched the tricorder back to power transfer mode and prepared to carry out the tasks he’d given her.

“Ready?”

“Ready.” She confirmed with the tricorder in one hand and the fire extinguisher in the other.

“Initiating.”

The lights and consoles immediately lit up and a definite hum began to build below the deck. She watched the power-drain from the tricorder until it began to reverse rapidly. She quickly cut the transfer. Without its casing to insulate it, residual energy in the tricorder shocked her hand and she dropped it with a small yelp.

“You ok?” He asked.

“Yeah.” She said, rubbing her hand.

The orbital bombardment continued to shake them as Jeff picked up the tricorder more carefully than she’d been holding it and quickly removed the cables and reattached the casing. He scanned one of the consoles. “This is navigation.” He moved to another one and scanned, “This is tactical. And that one we know is communication.” He tapped tentatively on the navigation console with one hand, comparing it with the translated readout on the tricorder. “The engines might just be functional.” He said with something resembling glee in his eyes.

Kee felt her mouth gape, that was not at all what she’d expected him to say. Before she could think of any kind of response he handed her the tricorder.

“Here, check the hull for microfractures and close the hatch.” This plan just got more and more insane.

She moved to carry out her orders, scanning all around them. The repeated shaking sent her stumbling into consoles and bulkheads a few times, but she was able to confirm, to her amazement, that the hull was in good condition. She ended her inspection at the back of the craft and leaned out to pull the hatch closed before returning to the forward compartment.

“The hull’s intact.” She informed him while scanning the tactical console and comparing the interface to the translation on the tricorder. She located the equivalent of phasers and some kind of torpedo-like projectiles. “We have phasers and some kind of torpedoes, but only five of them and I doubt they or the phasers are any match for Jem’hadar shields. Please tell me that the propulsion system is adequate enough to outrun them.” She handed the tricorder back to him.

“I guess we’re about to find out. Can the phasers break through the rock above us?”

“Yes, that won’t be a problem.”

He turned to look back at her. “Ready?”

“As much as I can be.”

“Engaging engines.” He said. As soon as the shuttle lifted off of the floor of the bay, the shaking stopped. He angled the shuttle upward and she prepared the phasers. She pressed the firing key and for a panicked microsecond nothing happened, but then there was an audible energy whine and a burst of light. As soon as they had punched through the mothership and through the rock to atmosphere, Jeff accelerated to full sub-light speed.

The shuttle shot out of the cavern and into space. On her console, she saw the Jem’hadar ships react and begin to turn to pursue. Jeff made the best of their slight lead and punched it up to warp speed as soon as they cleared the system. “Looks like we’re in the Kavarian system.” He said. “Free Haven is only ten lightyears away. If we can maintain this speed, we can make it there before they overtake us.” _If. ___

Kee watched the display as minutes ticked away. Free Haven didn’t exactly have a defense force that could hold off a Jem’hadar attack, but all they needed to do was get a message through to Starfleet. After that, they could take their chances.

As the shuttle and two ships continued bearing down on the Bajoran colony, several blips appeared on her screen. Then more. And more, until they were picking up thirteen ships up ahead. Kee looked up at Jeff, he’d seen them too. The shuttle’s computer would have no frame of reference for identifying modern ships, so he pulled up a visual on the squadron.

When the ships appeared on the screen Kee uttered a relieved curse. They were Starfleet with several Bajoran Militia ships amongst them and were already moving to intercept the Jem’hadar.

“Power down the weapons, so they know we’re not a threat.” Jeff said and Kee complied.

In moments, the little Promellian shuttle slipped past the Starfleet and Bajoran ships and Kee identified several of the starships, then saw the markings on one of the Bajoran fighters. “It’s the Krehu!” She exclaimed, wishing she could contact Ren and let him know she was the one on this ancient ship that he was moving to defend.

Without deviating from their flightpath, Jeff tossed the tricorder to her. “As soon as that jamming field is down, send the message to Starfleet Command via Free Haven’s subspace relay.”

The group of friendly ships engaged in battle behind them and soon the jamming field was down. Kee initiated the transmission as they slipped straight past the system without slowing.

“I’m taking us around the edge of Tzenkethi space to Starbase 621.” He informed her.

“Hold on, I’m picking up a message from Starfleet on all subspace bands.” Her heart sank as she read the text of the message. She looked up at Jeff, “We’re too late. The Breen have attacked Earth, San Francisco.”

* * *

Kee settled herself at a table in Starbase 621’s mess hall in front of a colorful bowl of beans, grain kernels, mushrooms, peppers and onions. It was a stew she’d made many times during the few years she lived with her family before leaving for the Academy. Right now she felt the need for the comforts of home. Back on Antares, she’d modified the replicator pattern for this dish to include a few things from other worlds, but this one was only the basic recipe.

She’d taken a few bites when she saw Jeff enter the room. He walked over and set down a padd next to her. “The casualty list.” He told her.

She turned the padd toward her and held her breath as she began scrolling through the names. It was a long list. She recognized some, but there was one she was looking for specifically, then she found it: En. Loren Dales – MIA.

She stared at the padd numbly for long moments before blanking out the screen.

“There are still a lot of escape pods out there.” He offered.

When she didn’t respond, he went over to the replicator and returned with a sandwich. He sat next to her and ate in silence, but his presence, at least, was comforting.

She thought through their actions over the past week and could find nothing they could have done differently. If they had come in with the intel but no evidence, Command wouldn’t have taken action quickly enough or at all. But because they got evidence, that set in motion the series of events that had delayed their return. There was simply no way to have prevented it. And now Loren was, at best, sitting in an escape pod right now, or at worst…

She managed to take a few more bites of her food but finally gave up. “I’ll be in my quarters.” She said as she stood to return the bowl to the replicator.

* * *

Self-pity wasn’t something Kee normally allowed herself to indulge in, but she made an exception this time. She’d been so concerned about sparing him this pain if something were to happen to her on one of these missions, but hadn’t worried about his safety at all. He was stationed at Earth, for Prophets’ sake, he should have been safe.

She hadn’t left her quarters aboard the starbase in two days and had finally forced herself to stop constantly watching the casualty report updates. Last she’d checked, he was still listed as missing.

Jeff had already left. Disappearing back to wherever he existed when he wasn’t with her.

Finally, she received a notification that Antares had arrived to pick her up. She had no belongings to pack up, so she simply straightened the room so it would be neat for the cleaning crew. When she was done, she tapped her commbadge. “Norv to Antares, one to beam up.”

“Acknowledged.” Came the transporter operator’s familiar voice, Crewman Ebbesen.

Within moments, she was standing in Antares’ transporter room, facing Maggie with her arms crossed. Kee wearily held up her hand, “Don’t start.”

Maggie’s posture softened. “They just updated the casualty report.” Kee felt herself stiffen. “He’s alive. They found his escape pod about an hour ago.”

A wave of exhaustion washed over her and she felt like her legs would give out. She wanted to crumble right there on the transporter pad, but somehow managed to stay on her feet.

“You and I have some things to talk about.” Maggie said.

Kee didn’t say anything as they walked out into the corridor together. She would have to figure out what to tell her without disobeying her orders of secrecy.


	3. Mothers, it seemed, were the same everywhere.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year: 2376, the last weeks of the dominion war.

Rice left the morning briefing, selecting the away team members in his mind. Starfleet had ordered them to the Argus Array to check out some suspicious activity and possible sabotage. He and three of his security officers would beam over to the array along with the chief engineer and the captain, who had decided to lead the mission, followed by the typical argument between her and the first officer. But she’d been an engineer herself before switching to the command track, and could never resist a mechanical challenge.

“Rezek, Norv, Lambert.” He said as he entered the security office. Lieutenant Rezek was in the middle of aggregating statistics on the targeting system performance and Ensigns Norv and Lambert were working on a tedious but necessary analysis of the torpedo guidance systems. The three officers stopped what they were doing and stood to face him.

“Starfleet’s sending us to investigate an unauthorized access alert at the Argus array. The captain,” He sighed, “will be accompanying Lieutenant Brisk to verify and repair any sabotage. Because of the captain’s presence, I’m doubling the security team. We’ll be arriving at the array within the next ten minutes. With any luck this will be a quick in and out.”

His officers acknowledged his order and went to the weapons locker to retrieve a hand phaser and phaser rifle each. Without a word, they filed out of the room toward transporter room one.

Captain Russel and Lieutenant Brisk were there waiting for them, each with a tool kit. “Bridge reports no life signs on the array and no ships within sensor range.” The transporter chief told them.

“Let’s get moving, then.” Captain Russel ordered. They beamed over to the array’s control room in groups of three: Rice, Rezek and Norv first, then the other three followed.

* * *

Once they had materialized in the control room, the security officers paced the immediate area while the engineers were already busily talking in their techno-speak that only they could understand, seemingly unaware of their protection detail.

“Rezek and Lambert, search the area. The intruders could still be here, masking their biosigns.” Rice ordered, indicating the one exit to the room. Kee took a position not far from Rice where she could see the corridor.

Before long, the captain and chief engineer had what seemed like half of the computer spread out on the floor around them. Russel sat back on her heels, scratching her head, then dove back into the task.

After a few minutes of near silence, Kee began to think back to the times she’d stood guard over people back in the resistance. Only now, instead of sabotage or planting bombs, they were repairing a sensor array. Of course, she wasn’t always the one to stand guard, often she had been the one to carry out the sabotage.

After a long while, Brisk stepped back from the console. “I don’t understand.” He said to no one in particular. “It has all of the evidence of being hacked but they didn’t actually do anything. It looks like they got in just far enough to trip the alarms, then left.”

Realization dawned on Kee. She and Rice said in unison, “It’s a trap.”

Russel tapped her commbadge. “Antares, are you picking up anything unusual?” Silence. She tapped her commbadge again, “Antares, do you read?”

Brisk had pulled out his tricorder. “I’m detecting a broadband dampening field that’s blocking communications. Most likely sensors and transporters too.”

Rezek hurried back into the chamber, breathing hard. “Lambert and I split up. I can’t find him and the comms are out.”

“We know about the comms.” Russel said. “The sabotage was a trap.”

“The question is, who?” Brisk asked.

This close to Cardassian space, there was little doubt.

“Cardassians would be the likely suspects.” Rice said, echoing Kee’s thoughts. “But why? What are they after?”

“Speculation will get us nowhere.” Russel said, ending the conversation. “We need to find them before they find us.” Without waiting for her security officers to lead the way, she pulled out her phaser and disappeared down the corridor. Rice had to jog after her, followed by Brisk with Kee and Rezek taking the rear.

“Lambert’s out here somewhere.” Rezek said to her as they made their way through the habitable part of the array.

“Where was the last place you saw him?” Kee asked.

“We split up just ahead.” He said, indicating a juncture up ahead. “He took the corridor on the right.”

“Captain-” She began.

“I heard.” Russel said as she veered to the right.

The group continued through the dimly lit corridor, listening and watching for the slightest indication of their missing crewmate or the enemy. Then there was a sudden thunk noise up ahead. Rice raised his phaser and motioned for Kee to come with him.

Side by side they moved cautiously toward the sound. It seemed to be coming from an alcove up ahead. They approached slowly, phasers first until they reached the corner. On his signal, they swung around to emptiness.

But then they looked down to find Lambert slouched against the bulkhead. Kee bent down for a closer look. His eyes fluttered a bit and his head lolled. She looked down to see a phaser burn on the side of his chest. “He’s injured.” She whispered to Rice.

“We need to get him out of here.”

Kee slid her shoulder under his arm and lifted him to his feet. He responded enough to suggest that he was still partly conscious. They hobbled back to the others where Rezek lifted the burden off of her.

“Keep moving.” Russel ordered.

They continued slowly down the corridor. When Russel, Rice and Kee had passed through an intersection, phaser fire erupted between them, cutting them off from the other three. Russel motioned to the others to retreat the other direction.

As they moved toward cover, an object rolled into the space between the two groups. “Get back!” Rice shouted. The other group ran in the opposite direction, but Kee, Rice and Russel weren’t fast enough. The stun grenade went off with a woosh sound just as Kee tried to move between it and the captain.

She didn’t remember feeling the stun effect or even falling. The next thing she knew she was on the floor with a numb, tingling feeling all over her skin. She tried to get up, but her limbs wouldn’t respond. With a great deal of effort, she managed to crane her neck far enough to see the captain and Rice also on the floor nearby, but darkness tried to close in around her again.

Heavy, low sounds echoed in her hollow hearing and she slowly recognized them as footsteps. Suddenly her arms were moving, but not by choice. She felt her shoulders pulled tight and realized that her hands were being bound behind her back. She willed her muscles to respond, but they refused.

Grey hands reached down and snatched the commbadge off of the front of her uniform, Cardassian hands, and she caught a glimpse of some kind of pattern enhancers being set up around them. A few moments later the room around them vanished in a swirl of light.

* * *

Russel was vaguely aware of being transported, but that’s all she could perceive until the cold tip of a hypospray pressed against her neck. With a surge of some kind of stimulant, she was forced into consciousness to find her hands bound behind her back. She groggily maneuvered herself onto her knees next to her two officers that had been similarly awakened.

A pair of armed Cardassians grabbed them off of the transporter pad and roughly guided them out into a corridor. Still disoriented from the stun grenade, she tried to make sense of what had happened. 

There were obviously Cardassians lying in wait for someone to investigate the supposed sabotage on the array, then when everything was in position their ship came out from wherever it was hiding, threw up a dampening field and closed the trap on them. That all made sense. But why? Had they been specifically targeted? Or did the Cardassians just get lucky to have bagged a Starfleet captain who was a little too eager to get off her ship?

Either way, she had plenty of very useful information if that’s what they were after. All officers were trained for this type of eventuality, but actually experiencing it was a whole different matter. For the safety of her crew and the Federation, she hoped she would be strong enough.

The three were led into a room with two holding cells. The Cardassians uncuffed Rice’s hands and shoved him into the first one. Next Russel was uncuffed and went into the next, rubbing her bruised wrists, followed by Ensign Norv, but with the cuffs still on.

As soon as the forcefield was activated, Norv said, “Hey! Can I get these _off_?”

The guard stationed at the door sneered back at her. “Not with your _record_.”

Russel took that to mean that she had perhaps escaped custody one too many times. Norv only shrugged at her captain sheepishly and dropped down onto the bench with a sigh.

“I’m guessing these Cardassians are not involved in Legate Damar’s rebellion.” Russel said quietly.

“Doubtful.” Norv replied.

“I wonder if the others made it out?” Rice speculated.

“Any idea if this ship has another brig besides this?” She asked Norv.

She thought for a moment, “This definitely isn’t a Gallor-class ship. Maybe a Kreil-class? Comparable to a Federation Saber-class ship. A crew of 40 at the most. Probably just the one holding area.”

“At least if the other three are captured, we’ll know it. Unless there are more than one ship, that is.”

“Silence!” The guard barked at them.

Russel thought back through any escape she knew of from Cardassian holding cells, but could remember only one… the three cadets over a year ago. She’d read Norv’s report about the power relay flaw, but that was unique to a specific type and era. She knew very little of Cardassian technology. There was a good chance she could monkey around with it and find their way out of the cells if they weren’t being watched, but the enemy wasn’t stupid enough to leave them alone.

She arched her back to stretch out her muscles that had stiffened up either as a result of being stunned or the stimulant they’d been given to wake them up. Norv seemed to have the same urge because she stood up, stretched tall and bent at the waist, folding nearly flat against her legs, then stretched her cuffed arms forward over the back of her head with surprising limberness. The guard, however, was not impressed. In fact, he visibly tensed.

A detail that Norv noticed when she straightened back up. “Relax.” She told him dismissively, “Don’t be such a _perakax_. I was just stretching.”

Russel suppressed a snicker, she was fairly certain that was a Ferengi word meaning 'too timid to hire a prostitute'. The guard simply went back to his statue-like posture while Norv rested back against the wall of the cell.

She regarded the ensign for a moment. The Cardassians would quickly realize that Russel and Rice were high-value captives, but it was unlikely that they would recognize her as anything more than a jr security officer. SI was smart to keep her position with them secret. She was also the least likely of all of them to break. Another smart choice by SI.

The doors parted and a glinn entered with two armed guards behind him. He stood in the center between both cells, smiling smugly. “A captain, a security chief and a low-ranking Bajoran. The gul will be pleased.” Then to the guards with him, he said, “Take the captain first.”

The guards obediently moved in front of her cell. One leveled his weapon at Norv while the other lowered the force field and bound Russel’s hands again. She complied, fully expected a scolding from Commander Hawkins when she got back, he’d never let her off of the ship again.

With a jerk of her arm, they led her out and through the corridor. It definitely didn’t have the feel of a large ship, the ensign might just be right about it. After a short, and completely silent march down the corridor, they stopped at a doorway.

The doors opened to reveal a room no larger than Antares’ bridge. The inside was furnished for one and only one purpose. There was a chair near the center of the room with wrist and ankle restraints, a table with restraints attached to the top and a chair in front of it. All were bolted to the floor to prevent tipping. Hanging from the ceiling was a long chain for which she didn’t want to imagine the purpose, but was afraid she’d find out. Consoles lined one side of the room and along the opposite wall ran a ledge with medical instruments ranging from modern to what you might find in a medieval exhibit at a museum.

Russel swallowed hard, steeled her courage and allowed herself to be led inside. Perhaps if she could keep them busy long enough, Rice and Norv would have a chance to escape.

The glinn reached up to her neckline to unfasten the jacket and turtleneck of her uniform and stripped them off of her. Then he brought her to the chair and began wrapping what felt like leather straps around her wrists and ankles. She offered no resistance. They had a phaser aimed at her head and she was outnumbered by a factor of three. Maybe one of her security officers could win against those odds, but not a techie like her.

When they were finished, the two guards took up positions, one near the door and one at the far wall, and the glinn turned his attention to the consoles. She waited in the silence, but she didn’t have long to ponder her fate. A Cardassian with a gul’s insignia on his uniform entered and stood before her.

“Well now. Captain Russel of the starship Antares. I’m sure your valiant crew is out there courageously searching for you right now.” He tipped forward at the waist, “But rest assured, they will not find us.”

“If you think you know my crew and me so well, you should know that I would die before betraying the Federation.”

“Oh, now, little lady, that kind of posturing isn’t necessary.” He walked around behind her and she resisted the urge to turn her head to follow. “In fact, I’m not even going to insult your virtue with questions that I know you’re not going to answer.” Suddenly she could feel his breath next to her ear, “But I assure you, by the time we’re done here, you will be begging for the chance to give up your own mother.”

Chills shot down her spine and she swallowed again. She reminded herself that nothing they could do to her would be worse than the Dominion being given the information they needed to win. Compared to billions of innocent people, her life was insignificant.

When she didn’t respond, he stood up and rested his hands on her shoulders. She could feel that he was holding something in each hand. “Captain,” He said, “I’m curious. How much do Humans really understand about pain? Hmm?”

She still didn’t answer and he continued. “You see, Cardassians have studied the topic quite thoroughly. I, myself, find it fascinating how the brain reacts to the signals it receives from the body. Everything from pleasure,” he slid his hand inside her undershirt to her collar bone “to disgust,” she could hear the smile in his voice as the small component attached itself to her skin, “to excruciating pain.” Finally, he pulled the bottom of her undershirt away from her uniform pants and placed another component to the side of her hip.

Finally, he walked back around in front of her. “Oh, once, long ago, Humans understood a great deal about pain. Drawing and quartering… the rack… the breaking wheel. Unfortunately, your culture has lost all of that, but I am willing to reeducate you.”

To punctuate his statement, he pressed a key on a control pad in his hand and she felt something like fire blossomed through her abdomen. She gasped first, then an uncontrollable scream forced its way from her throat.

* * *

It could have been days, or, at least, Russel thought it felt that way. But the gul had never left her, so it couldn’t have been more than part of a day, maybe it was hours, though it could have been an entire lifetime for all she could tell. Her exhausted mind could focus on nothing but the pain. She tried to grasp onto the things that mattered to her. Her family. Her crew. Real things. Tangible things.

The gul had stepped away to speak to the glinn. She was grateful for a moment’s peace from the droning on of his voice and stole a glance down at her wrists. They were bruised from straining against the bonds. Her fingertips hurt from involuntarily clutching at the chair. She felt a tickle under her nose and realized that it was bleeding.

The glinn walked out of the room with one of the guards and the gul returned. He took a breath to speak again and she groaned inwardly. “It has been suggested by some that while Humans, especially your women, are capable of withstanding a great deal of pain themselves, you have even more difficulty watching another’s suffering than many other races do.”

Her heart sank as she anticipated where he was going with this. Which one would it be? He went on, “The Federation is all about science. Let’s do a little experiment, shall we?”

Not a moment later, the door opened. Ensign Norv was led in, one guard holding tightly onto her upper arm and one with his rifle pointed at her back. When she saw the captain, she stopped in her tracks with a hard set to her jaw, deducing what was about to happen. The guard holding her arm yanked her forward. A knot of dread formed in Russel’s stomach.

The glinn stood behind her and removed one side of the restraints and moved as though to rejoin them in front of her. But the moment her hand was free Norv swung her arm up and back to smash her elbow into the face of the guard with the rifle. He staggered back covering his nose, dark, tar-like blood seeping between his fingers. But by the time she had turned to strike at the others, one of them hit her across the face with the back of his fist, the other twisted her arm behind her back, forcing her to her knees. The one with the bloodied nose stepped toward her as though to kick her, but the gul stepped in.

“Go clean yourself up.” He said with disgust.

As he left, the two remaining guards and the glinn managed to bind Norv’s wrists back into the restraints in front of her and thrust her into the empty center of the room. A dark bruise was already forming on her cheek. Russel thought she heard her mutter something at them.

The gul circled slowly around her, finally pushing a key on the control pad in his hand. Russel involuntarily flinched before she realized that it was a different key. The chain hanging from the ceiling over Norv’s head lowered and he lifted her arms to attach the restraint to it. After that he pressed another key to lift her arms straight up above her. Norv’s face was a mask of calm, but she swallowed hard, preparing herself for what was coming.

The gul straightened up and began unfastening her uniform tunic. Russel could see the muscles in her jaw clench. When he had her tunic open, he took a serrated knife out of his belt. Then he used the knife to cut away the bottom part of the two inner layers of her uniform, exposing her abdomen. He then he keyed his control pad again and the chain lifted her wrists higher, pulling her high enough that her toes could just brush against the floor.

He spoke again, “Many Bajorans in the resistance were trained to withstand a certain level of torture.” Norv looked beyond disgust as he slid his grey hand across her stomach. He finally turned back to face Russel, “There’s a Human expression that I believe is fitting here. It’s ‘not her first rodeo.’ Did I use that right? No doubt she’s already well into the process of building up the mental blocks to control the pain. But that’s alright, everyone has their limits.”

The glinn brought him a long, baton-shaped device that was about twenty centimeters long, he held it up to Russel. “Have you seen this before? It’s something our new allies, the Breen, shared with us. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to play with one. Think of a smaller, but much more powerful version of a Klingon painstick.” He let that sink in for a moment, then continued. “And it’s not just the initial pain, it leaves a charge within the cells themselves so the pain continues long after.” He waved it in front of Norv’s face, but to Russel said, “No comments?”

“ _Moudak cabur ku gre reilei toyiwir._ ” Norv said, without the universal translator, Russel had no idea what it meant, but by the scowl on his face, the gul clearly did.

The thought of allowing someone under her command to be tortured when she had the ability to stop it made her sick. And the fact was that she did have plenty of valuable information. Enough to satisfy them. But how many Federation citizens and allies would lose their lives if she gave up that information. She and Norv had both sworn to protect the Federation at the cost of their lives if necessary, but faced with witnessing her torture, she suddenly wasn’t sure if she was strong enough.

He didn’t wait for her to consider her lack of options, he pressed the device to Norv’s stomach. She screamed. In the moment before Russel turned away she saw jagged lines spider across her skin. The sound stopped, replaced by Norv’s ragged breathing. Russel turned back to see a fiendish grin on his face. “You didn’t care for that, Captain?” He asked her. Then pressed the end of his device into the small of Norv’s back. She screamed again.

When he pulled it away Russel tried to ignore her gasping breath. “Ensign Norvish is a Starfleet officer, she and I will both willingly give our lives for the Federation.”

“Oh, I’m sure it won’t come to that.” He ran his finger along her jaw. “We won’t let either of you die too soon.”

He continued to touch the device to different places on her body until her skin was bruised and bleeding and her screams had died down. Her eyes were closed and her lips moved slightly as though there was an internal mantra being repeated over and over.

“You see what I mean about the mental blocks?” He touched her again with it and only a strangled moan escaped her gritted teeth. “At this point, I could continue until her charred flesh fell away from her body, and get no more response than this.” He touched it to her one last time, eliciting the same reaction. “Which is why we must change tactics.” He pressed the control pad again and Norv’s wrists were released. She fell limp to the floor.

The two guards lifted her up and guided her on shaky legs toward the table with the restraints on top and maneuvered into the seat. After her left wrist was secured to the table, she’d regained some level of consciousness. She began to struggle. One guard had to hold her right arm down with both hands while his partner secured her wrist.

The glinn walked up behind Norv, grabbed the back of her hair pulling her head to the side. Then he pressed a hypospray to her neck. She immediately relaxed and her eyes glazed over.

“What did you give her?” Russel demanded.

Instead of the Cardassians, Norv answered, slurring something that she couldn’t understand.

The gul smiled like the sick version of a proud teacher. “That’s right. It’s Melathinalin.” He turned back to Russel, “You see, Melathinalin is a drug known by Bajorans as ‘bliss.’ It was sometimes smuggled into interrogation centers in the form of a small tablet that could be hidden in the cheek and crushed at the point where pain is too much to bear. Most interrogators give up at that point and wait for the drug to wear off.” Still taking on the posture of a teacher, “But I have learned over the years that if one continues the session despite the lack of response, as the drug wears off, and the pain slowly returns, those mental blocks we talked about are completely destroyed.”

The glinn brought a small case and set it down on the table. “Thank you.” He told him. Opening the case, he tipped it up for her to see the contents. Inside there was a handheld device with several controls on it, next to that were four needles, six centimeters long with bulbous tips on one end. She had a horrible feeling she understood what they were for.

“This was a gift from a gul I served under when I was a glinn. Now he knew how to interrogate a prisoner.” He took one of the needles out and, as she had feared, he lifted up Norv’s left index finger and inserted it under her nail. Russel couldn’t watch.

In her drugged stupor, Norv offered no reaction only watched impassively. He continued with her other fingers as he spoke, “Did you know that there are eighteen different types of pain? My people have studied them extensively. This device will deliver pain, constantly cycling through each of the different types, making it impossible to block it out.”

He finished his gruesome job and stood next to Russle and activated the control pad. “As the Melathinalin wears off, she will experience pain that you can’t begin to imagine, that she will be unable to adapt to. Eventually, the sensory input from the probes will burn her fingers from the inside out. But don’t worry, we still have her other hand to work with.”

Pools of dark red blood dripped from the tips of her fingers but her head only lolled to the side. Russel was glad at least for a temporary break for her.

“Now, while we wait,” He said, taking a padd from his assistant, “Let me tell you a little about your ensign.”

“I know about her past in the resistance, if that’s what you mean.”

“Well, let’s go over it anyway, in case there’s anything she neglected to tell you.” He scrolled through some information on the padd. “When she was a child, evidently her father, without regard for his family’s safety, had been obtaining sensitive information from the Cardassian computer system and passing it on to the resistance. While he was in custody awaiting his trial, he was killed in some kind of prison brawl.” He said with phony shock. “With a role model like that, it’s no wonder that when the girl was barely eleven-years-old she and several other children vandalized Cardassian property.”

Norv made no response to the mention of her father or herself, only stared into nothing with half-lidded eyes.

"At their trial they were sentenced to death…”

Russel couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “Death? They were children!”

“An example had to be made so that other children would not fall into the life of crime that these had. We learned that we could show no leniency to the Bajorans. You see, Gul Conolo had shown mercy to her family by not arresting the lot of them when her father was revealed as a traitor. But not a decade later she herself burned him alive with super-heated plasma.”

He waived his hand in the air. “But I’m getting ahead of myself. Instead of accepting their correction for the good of the community, these juvenile delinquents escaped from custody into the corrupting arms of the resistance. Then they compounded their guilt by adding murder upon murder, and her victims, I might add, were not always Cardassians. According to her record, she personally killed three unarmed Bajorans. Shot them in cold blood. Over the course of seven years she indiscriminately killed Cardassian civilians, soldiers and even her own people.” He paused for effect. “And now she’s a member of your crew. I had thought Starfleet had higher standards than that.”

“Guess not.” She said, not taking the bait. All she could do was sit and watch for the drug to wear off and hope that Rice was doing better than they were.

* * *

Rice crept through the corridor with a purloined phaser in his hand. He’d had no clue how to sabotage the forcefield covering his holding cell, so he did the next best thing: he faked it. He pried open a panel and started messing around inside until the guard came over to stop him. When he lowered the force field, he smashed the panel across the guard’s face. That got him this far, at least. He still had to avoid detection until he could get to the captain and ensign. Assuming either of them were still alive.

No, he told himself, at least one of them must still be alive or they’d have come for him too.

All of the corridors looked the same to him, he hoped he was following the correct path that he’d seen on the schematic he called up earlier. He didn’t want to risk accessing the computer again until he was with the others.

And then he recognized the label on a door panel as the Cardassian word for “interrogation”. He activated the Cardassian tricorder he’d picked up and set it on a passive scan. There were six individuals inside the room, four Cardassians, a Bajoran and a Human. He breathed a small sigh of relief, but only a small one. If they were still alive, he couldn’t imagine what was being done to them.

Without further hesitation, he prepared to key in the Cardassian security code Starfleet Intelligence had provided months ago for him to memorize, hoping it would still work.

* * *

Kee had been aware of everything that was happening, but couldn’t manage any kind of response. The moment they had given her the drug, everything around her took on a soft blue cast just like Cadda had once described to her. Her mind was fogged and she couldn’t hold on to any one thought for long. Couldn’t seem to use any of the techniques she’d learned to control pain. As soon as she began to feel a twinge of sensation in her fingers, she knew the _bliss_ was beginning to wear off.

The full effect of the pain hit her fast. Her fingers felt like they were burning and she looked down, expecting to see the flesh blistered and peeling away, but what she saw was only slightly less horrifying. Blood was visibly pooling under her fingernails where the needles were embedded and more blood dripped from her fingertips. With the lingering blue tint to her vision, the blood looked disturbingly black. But even that didn’t match the pain.

The gul, at least, had stopped his incessant chatter and propped himself against a nearby wall to watch his handiwork. She gave an experimental pull on her right wrist only to find no give to the restraint. No way to break free even if the combination of the drug and the pain hadn’t been debilitating enough. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Captain Russel. She knew what it was like in that position. To have the power to end the suffering of the person in front of you at the expense of others somewhere else. Or, at least she had the illusion of that power. The best way to combat this method of torture was to remember that nothing you could do would end it.

The pain shifted to a stinging sensation as though blades were gradually slicing into her flesh. The change pulled her focus back to the pain so forcefully she couldn’t even remember what she had been thinking about.

She could feel her breathing catch in her throat as she fought the pain. She refused to show it, refused to give the Cardassians the satisfaction. Instead she entertained a fantasy about jamming these things into the gul’s bony eye socket, bringing the tiniest curl to the corners of her mouth.

A drip of sweat crept down the side of her forehead, she focused on that. Tried to feel every hair it touched on its way down her face.

The pain shifted again to a biting cold, as though her fingers had been plunged into ice water. Seizing pain shot up her wrists as her body reacted. What had she been focused on before? She couldn’t remember again. All that filled her perception was the pain.

She suddenly missed Ren desperately. But he could do nothing to save her. And neither could she. Her only hope was Lieutenant Rice and the crew of their little ship.

* * *

The panel unlocked and the door slid open. Rice locked his focus first on the two Cardassian guards, shooting them before they could react. An alarm began to blare the moment his phaser discharged. He quickly shot the younger of the two remaining Cardassians. The last one, the gul had a phaser pointed at the captain’s head. In that moment, he took in the scene before him. The captain looked like she’d been beaten up and was secured to a chair. For a fraction of a second, his eyes flicked across to Norv, and his mind could scarcely process the pain she must be in.

“Put down the phaser Lieutenant.” The gul said calmly, leaning down within a few centimeters of the captain’s face.

Before he could do so, Russel thrust her head back, smashing her head into his nose. The Cardassian fired his phaser but the shot went wild as he hollered and stumbled in pain. Rice launched himself at him as he was trying to stand up. With his momentum, he rammed the Cardassian against the counter behind him. Instruments of torture slid off and tumbled to the floor. The pair struggled for the upper hand. Finally, Rice swept the gul’s legs out from under him and threw him to the floor on top of the pile of instruments.

Thick, dark blood pooled under the Cardassian’s head where something had impaled him, Rice searched the gul’s body for something that would unlock the women’s restraints and found it, a small control fob. He used it to release the captain first and helped her to her feet.

“I’ll secure the door, help her!” She said to him.

He hurried over to her. There was a control pad on the table next to her wounded fingers, he chose the key with a symbol that would power off the device. Then prepared to pull the needles from her finger tips all at once. “This is going to hurt.” When she had nodded, he pulled them out, eliciting a primal scream from her. But, then, visible relief.

He released the restraints on her wrists and she tried to stand up, but her knees buckled. He reached out to catch her, holding her up under her armpits.

“She’s been drugged.” The captain explained.

He held her for a moment longer until she regained her footing. “I’m ok.” She said, her voice a horse whisper.

Together they moved to the console and he tapped in the code from SI again, but it didn’t work. “They already locked that one out.” He said.

“I have one with higher clearance.” Norv managed to say as she input it. The interface blinked to life and he let her sit down to navigate it. She was far more fluent in reading Cardassian than he was.

He tried to follow what she was doing on the screen, she seemed to be going into computer systems that had nothing to do with the security system, but he didn’t question her. “They’re still maintaining the scattering field so we can’t transport out, but that also suggests that Antares is still nearby.” She said, her voice scratchy and breaking. “I disabled the containment fields in the corridors and set up a feedback loop that will blind the internal sensors, but they’ll be able to fix it in a matter of minutes. We have to move fast.”

While they were working at the console Russel had picked up phasers from the dead Cardassians for herself and Norv. “Let’s get going then.” She released the lockout on the door and they moved out.

* * *

Russel moved quickly through the corridor with her officers flanking her. Rice guided them toward the hangar where, with any luck, they could take control of a short-range fighter. Luck had been with them so far, but by the sound of the boots hitting the floor up ahead, that was about to end. The three officers split to either side of the corridor, Russel and Rice to one side, Norv to the other, and took cover behind sections of the bulkhead. They waited only a moment for the footsteps to get close enough. Russel began firing her phaser and her security officers followed her lead. Together they held the Cardassians in place.

Suddenly the hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she realized that there was someone coming up behind them. She swung around with her phaser, but too late. An armored body slammed into her, pinning her against the wall.

Before she realized it, Norv had rushed across the gap between them and pulled the Cardassian away from her by the neck of his armor. Like grabbing a snake by the tail, he turned on her. Russel heard a phaser clatter to the floor as she dove across to the position Norv had just left, leaving her to do what she knew she was capable of.

While Russel continued shooting down the corridor to keep the other Cardassians at bay, she watched the fight behind her out of the corner of her eye.

Norv threw a punch but the Cardassian deflected it and with the same movement grabbed her arm and slammed the heel of his hand into her chest. Then he picked her up by the front of her open uniform jacket and threw her against the wall, still holding on to her.

She reached up in between his arms and grabbed his chin with her bloodied left hand and the back of his neck with the other. She pulled his head sideways and down to smash his ear into her knee. Once he let go, she backed up down the corridor to give herself some space.

He threw a series of punches that she deflected but on one of them he was able to grab her wrist and twist it behind her and rotated her around to face away from him and hold her from behind.

She managed to free one arm and swung her elbow back to connect with his eye socket, then spun around and grabbed his arm to hold him in place to slam her knee into his side, just under his armor. She quickly backed up a step, shifted her weight and followed with a kick to his jaw, snapping his head hard backward. He fell to the floor and didn’t get up.

Norv retrieved her phaser, cradling her injured hand against her body. Rice nodded to them to provide cover while he advanced on the Cardassians ahead of them. Soon the shooting stopped and he waved them forward.

They reached the door to the hangar, but Norv’s code didn’t work. Russel pulled the cover off of the door controls, not a particularly sophisticated lock, so she fired into the circuitry. When the door opened phaser fire immediately lanced out. The three officers pressed against the sides of the doors, returning fire. She and Rice fired their phasers to push the soldiers in the hangar back while Norv slipped inside, taking up a better vantage point. While she covered them, the captain and security chief darted inside and toward one of the small ships. When they were in place, Norv joined them.

“Tell me you can get us inside.” Russel asked her.

“Probably.” She said, noncommittally, but with a surprising bit of humor in her breaking voice. She looked around and picked up a tool to pry off the panel next to the fighter’s door. Once she had it open, she reached her right hand inside farther and farther. Russel and Rice had the last two soldiers pinned down behind a console.

Something inside the opening sparked, Norv yelped and pulled her hand back, but quickly reached back in. “Almost.” She said. Then a moment later, “Got it.” The hatch opened and she snapped the panel back into place.

As they moved inside, Russel started giving orders. “Rice, you’re at tactical. Norv, you take the helm.” She said as she sat down and called up the sensors and navigation. Norv skipped any preflight and the ship soon lifted off of the floor.

“I’m going to take out the other fighters so they can’t follow us.” Rice said, already targeting and firing on the other ships in the hangar.

“Can you get that door open?” Norv asked Russel, referring to the hangar bay door.

“I don’t think so, but Rice can.”

“Sure thing.” He said.

“A structural integrity field will go up as soon as it detects a breach, we’ll have to time it just right.” Norv said.

“On your mark.”

“Powering up. Accelerating in three… two… one… mark!”

Russel’s stomach flip-flopped as her body was pushed against her chair. For a split second, it looked like they would smash into the bay door, but then it erupted into a ball of fire and suddenly stars filled the view screen. “With this scattering field, I won’t be able to scan for Antares, I’ll have to have to visually locate them.”

“Unfortunately… I’m going to make that hard for you.” Norv said and immediately the stars turned into streaks of light as she sharply turned the shuttle downward and to the right, directly under the belly of the Cardassian ship.

Norv piloted the tiny ship scarcely a meter from the hull of the larger ship, zigzagging and twisting to avoid phaser blasts and tractor beams. Russel could hear the phasers discharging as Rice fired back but because of the vacuum of space, they could hear no subsequent explosions. As Norv worked the controls, blood continued to drip from her injured fingers, smearing on the console. When she had a moment, she used the sleeve of her uniform to wipe the controls clear as though it were nothing but a spilled beverage.

Russel continued to attempt to locate Antares, when suddenly a horrible metallic shriek filled the cabin. She checked the structural sensors to see that their port winglet grazed the underbelly of the larger ship. Norv quickly adjusted and looked at her sidewise, “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me.” Then added. “But you might want to leave a note for the Cardassians.”

Norv let out a short but fully amused laugh.

The ship lurched as though they’d been fired upon. Then a second time.

“That came from behind, not above.” Norv said.

“I guess I wasn’t so thorough enough when I fired at those other fighters.” Rice said, “Norv, give me a one-eighty turn on my mark.”

“Ready.”

“Mark!”

The passengers were pressed into the left side of their seats as the ship spun completely around then accelerated. Phasers pounded into the other fighter. They returned fire, but not fast enough. Norv tipped the ship to the side to avoid colliding as the other ship broke apart.

Then she saw it, Antares. “There! Bearing 001-mark-point-03. Range 300 thousand kilometers.” That old ship had never looked so beautiful.

“Confirmed.” Norv said, then continued her unpredictable course back toward Antares, pushing the little fighter to the maximum safe speed. As the fighter left the Cardassian ship behind, Antares provided cover by firing phasers.

Even through the scattering field, Russel detected a tight beam transmission. She opened the channel.

_“This is Hawkins, Captain, do you read?”_

“This is Russel. Do you have the other half of our team?”

_“Yes, we were able to break through the transporter scrambling field and picked them up an hour ago.”_

“Good, we’re coming in.” She closed the transmission while Norv flew the ship in a wide arc around the back side where they found that the shuttle bay door was already open. Without slowing down, the ship shot into the shuttle bay then rapidly decelerated, veering sideways. The back wall came up fast in the port window before they jerked to a halt what had to be centimeters away. Through the starboard window, she could see the bay door closing and stars already streaking past as Antares sped away.

* * *

Maggie gently held up Kee’s hand to use the dermal regenerator on each of her fingers. Kee watched her, she was unusually somber. “What? No scolding for getting ourselves into trouble again?” She teased, trying to lighten things.

Maggie only pursed her lips and sighed. “There’s severe nerve damage. We’re going to need to do some neural regeneration therapy.” She said, softly without looking up. “The recovery rate is good, but there’s a possibility of some permanent loss in sensitivity.”

“How much loss?”

“Usually less than five percent.” She said, still not looking her in the eye.

Kee reached out and wrapped her free arm around her friend’s shoulders to pull her close. “Hey. It’s ok. I’ll be fine.”

She broke away silently. “I’ll go prepare the equipment.”

* * *

Kee prepared a new recording on her console. The fingertips on her left hand felt a bit odd, like the nerve endings hadn’t quite healed completely. She could live with it, though.

By the time she was released from sick bay, the fleet had been ordered to meet at the Cardassian border to follow the retreating Dominion fleet. The rest of the crew had a habit of making these recordings just before battle. It seemed like a strange thing to do, but she could see the benefit in having her family receive one last message from her if anything were to happen. Rumor was that a casualty rate of fifty percent was projected.

She restarted the recording for the third time, “I’m, um, not quite sure how to start this. Hopefully you’ll never get this message anyway.” She began.

“Mother, Edda, I know we have a tendency to butt heads… often… but I wanted to make sure that you know I love you both. I didn’t leave home because I didn’t want to be with you. I left because I’m certain that the path the Prophets have for me leads out here. The safety of the Federation is the safety of Bajor, and the safety of Bajor is the safety of my family. You are _always_ in my thoughts.

“Joial, Ren, all the rest of you… I love you in a way that only you can understand.” She laughed at her statement, “Wow. That was really bad. I’d better make it through the rest of this conflict so you never see this.” She laughed again. “I’ll come home when the war is over. I promise.”

With a thin smile, she ended the recording, but the smile soon left her lips. If the Dominion won the war, she had no doubt Bajor would soon find itself back in Cardassian hands. She couldn’t even think of what that would mean. Then her thoughts turned from them to the people she’d be going into battle with. A lot of people were going to die within the next twenty-four hours. She truly hoped the Prophets would be with them.

* * *

Kee sat at the secondary tactical console as the two fleets converged. She continually fed telemetry, target analyses and weapons data to the primary console Rice operated. Her console was in turn fed by other officers in the armory where they also managed the performance of the phaser emitters and the loading of the torpedoes. They’d been through plenty of battles and countless drills, she had absolute confidence in their abilities. The uncertainty was whether their enemy would be better.

Then Jem’Hadar ships began ramming ships from the allied fleet, destroying or badly damaging them with a single collision. The captain shouted orders over the noise of the battle, the helmsman navigated the ship through the chaos and Kee kept her focus on her job, not on the chaos outside.

The ship rocked with another hit and the bulkhead exploded next to Rice. He fell to the floor. Kee couldn’t stop to check to see if he was dead or unconscious, but the burns on his face and neck weren’t a good sign. She stepped into the primary tactical positon to take over only to find that there was nothing she could do, only report their status to the captain. “Shields are down, phasers are gone and torpedo launchers are jammed.” She called over her shoulder.

Russel whipped her head around to acknowledge and in that moment time seemed to slow to a near halt. The Breen ship that had been pounding them returned for another attack run. Rapid weapons fire pulverized the hull. Her console lit up with alarms before she could grasp what was happening. “We’ve got hull breaches on…” her voice faded out when she saw on the viewscreen a full third of the saucer section of their ship disintegrate into a fiery explosion.

“Abandon ship! Repeat, all hands abandon ship!” The captain ordered.

Kee partially registered a Defiant-class ship arcing across the viewscreen, through their wreckage. She bent down to find that Rice was still alive and began lifting his heavy shoulders to pull him to an escape pod. When she looked up she saw the captain was still standing in the middle of the bridge as though she were going to stay. “Captain!” She called, “Help me with him.”

Russel turned and immediately came to help Kee lift him into an escape pod. Making sure that the Captain was positioned to enter first, Kee stepped in and hit the control to close the door before the captain could have additional thoughts about going down with the ship.

Kee grabbed the med kit and began scanning Rice while Russel sat at the controls of the tiny craft. She pressed a hypospray to the uninjured side of his neck then passed a disinfecting device over his burned skin. “The burn is too bad for the dermal regenerator to do anything. I disinfected it and gave him something for the pain. That’s about all we can do until we’re picked up.” She reported, feeling a change in momentum as the pod ejected from the ship.

Russel was looking out the viewscreen, “That might be a while.”

Kee followed her eyes and saw the Dominion fleet going to warp deeper into Cardassian space with the remains of the allies plus the Cardassians following. In a matter of moments there was nothing left around them but tumbling wreckage and escape pods.

* * *

The three officers had been in the escape pod for hours. It was cramped, meant only for two people. Rice had not yet regained consciousness, but had not worsened either. Russel supposed it was better this way. She’d considered staying with her ship, maybe she could have rammed one of the Dominion ships with what was left of it and tried not to hold it against her young security officer for manipulating her into getting into the pod with them. Despite her petite appearance, she was certain the ensign would have been completely capable of maneuvering Rice into it by herself. At the very least she appreciated her loyalty.

With Rice’s unconscious form taking up the majority of interior space, the two women had seated themselves on the floor opposite each other with their backs against the bulkheads. After maneuvering into a cluster of other escape pods followed by the initial status checks, not a word had passed between them.

Ensign Norv was staring into her lap and absentmindedly ran her thumb across the fingers of her left hand. With a slight intake of air, she prepared to speak. “Those three Bajorans were collaborators.” She said without looking up from her hands laying in her lap. The comment brought Russel’s mind back to the experience on the Cardassian ship only days ago when the gul had stated she’d killed three unarmed Bajorans. Apparently despite her drugged state, the ensign had heard everything that was said. When she said nothing, Norv continued, “What you think of me matters a lot, and I wanted you to know that.”

“Ensign, do you know why I requested that you be assigned to Antares?”

She finally met her gaze. “No.”

“Your response, yours and Ensign Capshaw’s, to the incident in the Megrez system told me that you both had a drive beyond ambition, beyond duty. In the last year, I’ve found you to be noble, trustworthy and honest. I have never doubted your integrity for a moment.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Considering what they’d been through together, she decided to ignore the barrier that was supposed to be in place between captain and crew and admit something she hadn’t planned on sharing with anyone. “Actually, back on that Cardassian ship, I was afraid _I_ wouldn’t live up to _your_ standards.”

Norv’s brow furrowed on either side of the ridges on her nose, but she said nothing.

“I wavered. I tried to stay strong in the face of your…” she paused, sifting through thoughts that she had avoided thinking for days. “If Rice hadn’t come in, I don’t know how much longer it would have been before… I gave them everything.” She felt ashamed to admit it, but she was sure Norv was the only person she could say this to.

The young woman opposite her maintained her silence, but the expression on her face didn’t turn to disgust or disappointment as she’d expected. Instead she saw empathy in her smoky green eyes. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of.” She said finally, then paused again, seeming to consider sharing something herself. “I’ve been in that position, I know what it’s like to have someone used as leverage against you.”

Russel knew Norv had still been a teenager when she was in the resistance, her heart tightened at the thought of going through that so young.

“I’d never been so terrified in my life.” Norv continued. “I couldn’t bear the thought of betraying the people I fought beside and the cause I’d dedicated my life to. But I was afraid I would. There’s a reason they use that tactic. It works. There’s no shame in that.”

“How did you resist?”

“I realized I couldn’t betray _him_. He so bravely faced everything they did to him. How could I possibly let him down by making it all worthless?”

Silence hung in the air for a moment, then she finally asked, “Did he make it?”

A sad smile tugged at the corner of her lips, “For the most part.”

At that, Rice began to stir, and Norv immediately moved to tend to him. Russel watched her young officer who was far too experienced for her years.

\- - -

Rice was awake now and Kee carefully managed his pain medication. When the message came over the comm that the Dominion had surrendered, a huge weight had lifted off of the three. They were still drifting through space, waiting for the fleet to return and pick up them and the other survivors. But the mood was much lighter now.

The captain was surprisingly good at coaxing people into talking about themselves, Kee had seen her do it many times. It seemed to be a good skill for a captain and without Kee even realizing it, she found Russel had her talking about her family. “… the name Jora comes from the old name for my people, Bajora. Joial is derived from the traditional greeting during the Gratitude Festival, Peldar Joi. Edda, and the female version Cadda, both come from a mythical fruit called Mahkedda that is supposed to provide farmers that grow them good fortune.”

“So, what does Keedra mean?”

She hesitated, she should have seen this coming, “Imagine the fin of a fish.” She began slowly.

“Ok.”

“On the fin there are spines of tough tissue and between those the fish’s skin is semi-transparent. In our language, that space is called a keedar. From which comes the name Keedahra, and the modern version, Keedra.”

She laughed. “You’re named after a fish fin.”

“A _very specific_ part of a fish fin.” She corrected and the two laughed. “What about your name?”

“Patricia means ‘noblewoman’.” She said, somewhat embarrassed.

“That’s perfect!” She enjoyed a moment where she could put Russel on the spot instead.

\- - -

“…Engineering was completely flooded with warp coolant. It was a huge mess.” Russel laughed as she continued an account of her first month on a starship, straight out of the Academy.

“Your fault?” Kee asked, laughing along with her.

“My fault.”

“How long did it take to repair the damage?”

“We were adrift in deep space for four days.” She said with an embarrassed look. “I was sure the captain was going to kick me off the ship right then and there. But he just shrugged it off and asked how long it would take to repair the damage.” She shook her head, “It was at that point that I realized that making a mistake wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. And that gave me the confidence to take the initiative and make my own decisions. It was really after that that my growth as an officer began. I realized that there’s no way to get by without making mistakes. As I moved into command positions, I’ve always tried to follow his example. Even in situations when sometimes mistakes can cost lives.” She bowed her head slightly. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that.”

“No.” She agreed.

After a long silence, Russel spoke again, “You were really eleven when you joined the Resistance?”

“Yes, I was.”

“It must have been terribly frightening.”

“Actually, I was so focused on not letting the others down that I barely thought about it. By the time I really faced it, I was already in it so deep that it didn’t matter anymore.”

“It sounds exhausting.”

\- - -

“Antares was a good ship.” Russel mused, “But, really, she would have been decommissioned years ago, if not for the war.”

“What are you hoping for next?”

Russel looked off in thought, “I’d love to command a Cheyenne- or Intrepid-class or maybe a Nova-class… Something small, maneuverable. But even at that size, we’ll have a bigger crew than what we’re used to.”

Kee smiled at that, so she did intend to keep the crew together.

Russel continued, “Antares was old and obsolete. Coming apart at the couplings, upgraded and retrofitted so many times that there wasn’t much of the original ship left. An engineer’s nightmare.” She laughed. “But she was my first command, and I’ll always remember her in a special way.”

Almost on cue, Rice began to snore softly.

\- - -

Russel stood on one foot with her body tipped sideways, her free leg stretched out behind her, one arm straight up and one straight down on the floor, supporting part of her weight. Norv had called this ‘half moon’, and was holding the same pose opposite her in a much more graceful manor. The strength in Russel’s standing leg was about to give out when she lost her balance and fell right into the ensign and they both tumbled to the floor.

“Ok, let’s try something easier.” Norv laughed. They’d been stuck in this escape pod for nearly a full day. They had plenty of air and supplies left and it had been good to have a chance to get to know her officer, but they were beginning to get restless. In the cramped space, yoga was about the only physical thing they could do and she’d asked Norv to teach her some positions.

“So, let’s try one called lizard.” Norv suggested and coached her into a runner’s lunge position with her forward leg on the outside of her arms.

The stretch through her legs was intense, but good. She watched Norv get into the position herself, then lowered all the way down to her elbows so that her knee was actually higher than her shoulders. “Well, I’m not doing _that_.” Russel said with a laugh.

When she stood up out of the pose, the console that had been silent for hours began beeping. Together they bent over it to see Federation warp signatures coming toward them from within Federation space. The two could only laugh. They were finally going to get out of here.

* * *

Maggie followed Kee down a long path lined with trees and up to a big, elegant house. They’d spent months working to help the construction crew finish their new ship. It took a long time for their names to come up for shore leave, but when they did, Kee had invited her to come to Bajor with her. After all, she’d come home with Maggie several times during Academy leaves.

Kee stepped up to a pair of ornate double doors and pressed her thumb to the scanner. It responded with a positive sound and she pushed it open.

Inside Maggie felt her mouth gape as she took in the circular entryway. Doors lead off to rooms on either side and a staircase curved up the far wall with another one below it heading downward to a lower level.

“You’ve been sharing tiny quarters with _me_ when you could be living _here_?” She asked.

Kee only smiled, “There’s a lot of baggage that comes with this house.” She moved to a small table against the wall with a piece of paper on top. Maggie looked over her shoulder at it, but couldn’t read the Bajoran writing. She was about to ask what it was when Kee let out a laugh, “It’s from my mother. It’s a list of things she wants me to do as soon as I arrive.” Then she flipped the note over to find other writing on the back and smiled at it.

“Who’s that one from?”

“My uncle. He’s looking forward to seeing us and apologizes for my mother’s list.” With a sigh, she put down the note and headed toward the stairs. “Well, I’ll show you to a room and I guess we’ll get started.”

* * *

Edda walked up from the lakeshore toward the house to find his sister out on the leafy groundcover. He rolled his eyes as he got closer, she was standing on one foot, bent at the waist with her torso angled down and her other leg stretched upward in a straight line and her arms flat against her body. “Showoff.” He muttered as he passed her, just loud enough for her to hear.

“Excuse me?” She said testily from her near upside-down position.

“Never mind, _Lieutenant._ ” He said, making sure his sneer was audible. Their mother and Joial had been so proud of her promotion as though it was some major achievement. All she did was get her ship blown up.

She leveled out, still standing on one foot and arched her body back, bent her upper leg and reached back to grab her foot and let out a slow breath. As though that was so hard to do. He made an intentionally indifferent sound.

“Can you go somewhere else?” She said.

“Why, am I throwing off your _precious concentration_?”

She finally dropped out of the pose to face him. “No because I’m about to kick your _cabur_!”

“It’s always about violence with you, isn't it?”

“I don’t need to justify myself to you. We just fought a war. I deserve a vacation, but I came home instead!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry that you had to come home, we all know how eager you were to leave Bajor behind.”

“I spent seven years of my life fighting for-”

“It always comes back to that, doesn’t? Are we all supposed to be grateful for your _brave_ sacrifice?”

She threw her hands up in the air, “You have no idea-”

“Of course not! How could someone like me possibly understand?”

“I don’t need this.” She said and stomped away. He watched her go. Only another week and she’d be gone again doing whatever it was they did out there.

* * *

Captain Russel beamed down to a clearing in the middle of a heavily wooded part of the planet. The Endeavor, their new Intrepid-class starship had been completed ahead of schedule. Starfleet’s shipyards had been working beyond their maximum capacity for the last few months in order to rebuild the fleet and she was pleased to have received one of the first new ships to emerge. Not to mention going from and old, nearly obsolete Miranda-class ship to the relatively new Intrepid-class. She’d been nearly giddy the entire trip to Deep Space Nine.

She took a moment to appreciate her surroundings. She stood in a small clearing surrounded by tall, thick trees that were gently swaying in the summer breeze. A cloudless blue sky above her. Behind her, the shore of a large lake with an empty dock and in the other direction a beautiful, old house constructed with what appeared to be pre-occupation architecture. Most of the property was carefully landscaped, but far to one side, beyond a collection of garden boxes was still quite wild-looking. That’s where she spotted the person she had come to see. “Lieutenant!” she called.

Norv was lifting a pile of heavy plant debris into some kind of disposal bin and couldn’t immediately respond. An exquisite tattoo on her back peeked out the edges of the tank top she wore and the tips of her pale hair were colored bright pink. After she deposited the load she turned with a smile spread across her face, wiping the sweat from her forehead on the back of one of her work gloves. “Captain! I didn’t expect to see you here. Is there a problem?”

“No, not at all. Construction on the Endeavor was completed ahead of schedule. We were sent to Deep Space Nine to pick up a few last components we needed, so I decided to drop in to get some fresh air. Nice hair, by the way.”

Norv smiled nervously, “Cadda convinced me to do it. I’m planning to get that part cut off before I return to duty.”

Russel cocked her head, “Keep it.”

“Really? The uniform code-”

“… can be interpreted and enforced as the captain sees fit. How is your vacation going?”

“Not much of a vacation, really. But it feels good to be outside, working in the dirt. Maggie’s out on the lake with my mother.” 

Russel nodded. “Your home is beautiful.”

“Thank you. It was in my family for generations. After we reclaimed it at the end of the occupation, we worked to restore the house and the grounds. This,” she indicated the area she was working on, “is the last of it.” She said and moved toward the group of garden boxes. “Something about this kind of work just feels right. Not that I’d ever want to leave Starfleet for it.” She added quickly. “I guess it’s just a genetic predisposition.” She said with a shrug as she began carefully checking through the plants.

As she stepped closer, Russel could see oddly shaped and colored fruits and vegetables hiding under the leaves in various stages of maturity. Norv picked a few and placed them in a basket nearby, then moved to a trellis covered with vines. “I’ve never seen these _tahrran_ beans produce so well.” She said excitedly as she picked a handful of red bean pods. “The amount we used to get over an entire season is what I’ve been picking every other day!” She seemed extremely pleased. “Thanks to the Federations help restoring the soil and water, I’m sure.”

Just then a boy who couldn’t be more than four years old came bounding out of the woods. Norv greeted him enthusiastically, “Hey bud! Where’ve _you_ been?”

“I went down to the ravine and built a fort with Nowa.” He said proudly.

“Just remember to stay out of that water, the runoff is still toxic there.” She warned him. Russel remembered her telling her once that Bajoran children were given a great deal of freedom to roam, but she wouldn’t have expected such a young boy to be allowed out of sight for so long. Norv didn’t seem the least bit concerned, though.

“I know.” He said as though he’d heard the lecture a few too many times.

“Hey, do you want to meet my captain?” She said, still picking the bean pods.

He looked at her as though she had just now materialized there. “Yeah!”

“This is Captain Russel. And this is my cousin Tayb.”

Russel held out her hand to him. “Hello, Tayb.”

Tayb squared his shoulders and shook her hand, then announced, “I want to be a starship captain someday too!”

“I’m sure you’ll be an excellent one.”

Without another word, he snatched a few beans off of the vine and took off into the trees.

“Be back in an hour.” Norv called after him, then to her she said, “Yesterday he wanted to be a chief engineer, and last week he wanted to be a land use facilitator.” She laughed and finished with her work, she picked up the basket that was now full of bean pods and half a dozen other types of produce that Russel couldn’t identify. “Would you like to come inside?”

“I’d love to.” She said and followed her young Lieutenant. They entered through a back door on the ground level and wound their way through a maze of storage spaces containing boating equipment, food storage and gardening implements. Past a sunny window sill lined with tiny pots of seedlings. They climbed a flight of stairs and as they reached the top it opened up to a rather grand entryway. It looked like there were still many repairs to be made, but she could see the expense that had once been lavished on this home.

She led her into an old-fashioned kitchen. Or at least what back on Earth would be considered old fashioned, on a planet that valued farming over technology, this was probably the norm. Norv placed her basket on the counter and busied herself with washing its contents.

Russel took a moment to take in the view out the window. The rolling hillside was mostly covered in large trees like the ones surrounding this property, the lake she’d seen stretched almost to the horizon with little boats drifting in every direction. Mountains poked up in the background with snowy peaks. The view would have been perfect except for patches where entire hillsides had been stripped of trees, and in a valley off to the side, there were the remains of dilapidated Cardassian buildings that had yet to be cleared away. Here and there she saw massive towers sticking up over the trees.

Norv saw her looking at them and explained, “Those are towers from the old sensor grid that spanned the entire planet. They’re being torn down, but there are so many of them it takes time.”

“I see.” Somehow seeing them drove home the reality of the word her officer had grown up in. A world of strip-mining, of theft and brutality, of the constant, overwhelming presence of the enemy. And it dawned on her that what she’d seen and what she’d been told had barely scratched the surface.

Within just the last few minutes almost all of the boats on the lake had begun turning to shore as though triggered by some common timeframe. She realized it was probably closing in on dinner time in this region. “I should head back, I’ve imposed on you enough.”

Norv turned to them and hesitated for a moment. “Um… actually, I need you to stay.” Then quickly explained, “It’s a cultural thing. If you’re at someone’s home anywhere close to a meal time, you’re expected to stay, or it’s… considered rude.” She said delicately.

“Oh. On Earth it’s considered rude to assume you’ll be invited to stay.”

“I know, but if you leave and my mother finds out, I will never hear the end of it. Not that I’m particularly eager to inflict my family on you, but if you don’t stay, twenty years from now, she’ll be saying ‘remember when your captain was here and didn’t stay for dinner…’” She laughed with a mixture of humor and dread.

“I would love to stay.”

“Thank you.” She turned and selected some of the vegetables she’d just picked and washed. Actually, Russel was glad Norv had insisted, she’d never eaten food picked only a matter of minutes earlier and she found she was looking forward to it. She watched with fascination as the young woman moved quickly and efficiently around the kitchen, gathering things from cupboards, cutting the vegetables and beginning the cooking process.

“I had no idea you knew how to cook.”

She halfway turned to her with a smirk, “We didn’t exactly grow up with replicators.”

“Of course. Is there anything I can help with?”

“Not really. I’m used to doing it alone.” She picked up a plate of fresh vegetables she’d just cut and assembled and held it up to her. “Try one?”

Russel reached out and selected a piece of red… something, and popped it into her mouth.

“That one’s spicy!” Norv warned.

The fiery aroma wafted up the back of her nose first, then the burn spread across her tongue and tingled across her lips. Russel closed her eyes to savor the sharp flavor and felt a smile creep onto her lips as the endorphins kicked in.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Norv smiling back at her approvingly before turning away to continue the food preparation. As she continued to move around the kitchen Tayb came in and peeked at the food being prepared. Followed a few minutes later by a man Norv introduced as Joial and his wife, Rahnah. The couple greeted her warmly and Tayb flung himself into their arms.

A Bajoran girl a little older than Tayb wondered into the crowded kitchen. “Nowa. Do your parents know you’re here?” Kee asked her.

“Yes.”

“Ok. How about you and Tayb go and put out the dishes on the table.” The two children turned away obediently.

Joial wondered over to where his niece was working and tried poking at the food. “What’s this?” Instead of simply pushing his hand away, she leaned the side of her body against his, forcing him to step aside. He smiled at the playful gesture and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, kissing the side of her forehead.

Another two people entered and Kee introduced them as Jora and Edda, her mother and brother.

Jora eyed Russel with suspicion, “You’re not here to take her away already, are you? She’s _mine_ for two more days.”

Russel smiled diplomatically, “Mrs. Norvish, she may be under my command and live on my starship, but she will _always_ be _yours_.”

Jora’s expression softened. “Well… it’s good to finally meet you, Captain.” With that she turned away to another part of the kitchen.

“Captain! I didn’t expect to see you here.” Capshaw greeted her.

“Well, I just dropped by for some fresh air and-”

“-and it’s dinner time so you got stuck.” She finished, understanding. “Jora has kept us so busy, I’m actually looking forward to being back on duty. I could use the break.” She laughed and disappeared into the quickly growing crowd.

With so many people moving back and forth with various purposes, it was hard to keep track of everyone. As she was attempting to stay out of the way she saw Kee and her brother near the cooking surface having a heated argument. The two kept their voices low enough that it wasn’t clear what they were arguing about, but the hostility was tangible. Her brother poked a finger against her shoulder and shoved her. Russel wondered if he knew what a dangerous game he was playing.

When the two finally gave up on their argument, Norv began putting serving bowls full of food into people’s hands and sending them through a doorway. A bowl appeared in Russle’s hands and she obediently followed into a dining room which included a low, oval table ringed with large pillows. She found a place to set down the bowl in her hands and knelt on one of the pillows across the table from Capshaw.

Once everyone was seated, all of the Bajorans placed their hands palm-up on the table in front of them and bowed their heads. Russel copied Capshaw who had placed her hands respectfully in her lap and lowered her eyes while Jora recited a prayer in Bajoran.

The process of passing food around the table was remarkably similar to the way Humans did so. Happily sharing the meal with their loved ones.

“Keedra,” Jora began, “I saw Aielz today and she told me her son is going to be in town tomorrow.”

Norv didn’t look enthusiastic, “Aielz’s son… Tiken? He’s the one that used to hang lizards from his eyebrows and had everybody convinced that Jas Holza was his biological father.”

“He doesn’t do that anymore. I thought I might invite them over for dinner tomorrow.”

“No.” She said flatly.

“Just for a visit, then?”

“No. We’ve been over this three times already since I’ve been here. You’re not setting me up with somebody. Was I speaking Klingon by accident?”

“He’s a nice young man.” She insisted as though her daughter hadn’t spoken.

“No. Or, in Klingon: ghobe' wej DaneH, in Ferengi: _Smeeno deka adremp_. Or Vulcan: _Stitev volla strenak_. No.”

Jora sighed as only a mother can do, “I just want you to be happy.”

“I _am_ happy. I’m in a deeply committed relationship with my job and that’s not going to change.”

Jora looked unconvinced but let the matter drop anyway. Mothers, it seemed, were the same everywhere.

“What are you _doing_ , Daddy?” Tayb asked and Russel noticed that Joail had neatly stacked a pyramid of a deep purple root vegetable that Norv had roasted.

“These are suspicious.” He said a cheerful smile at his son. A recurring joke, maybe?

The children burst into giggles while Kee turned away from him with her lips pressed thinly together, doing her best not to laugh. “That was not funny, and I’m _not_ looking at you.” She said, continuing to avoid his gaze, but the glee in her eyes gave her away.

He was now staring intently at her with a mischievous expression. “Then why are you laughing?”

“I am not laughing, and I’m not looking.” She said, about to lose it. Finally, she peeked at him as though she couldn’t help herself, then burst out laughing, burying her face in her hands.

Joial continued his facial taunting.

Kee finally tried looking at him again, but only devolved into laughter again, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. “What about that one?” She asked, pointing to one he’d left segregated from the others.

He speared it with his fork and held it up to her. “This one’s very trustworthy.”

The children’s laughter sounded out again, and Norv let out a snort despite her attempts to hide it.

Very pleased with himself, Joail continued, “I really like the cut of his jib.”

“I’m sorry, I thought I had cut off his jib.” Norv said, breaking into laughter again.

Rahnah leaned over to Russel, “I think we’re going to need to separate these two.” She said, rolling her eyes.

Russel missed whatever Joial had said next, but Kee and the children’s laughter had erupted again. She sat back for a moment and enjoyed the joyful scene.


	4. If she could trust anyone with this, she could trust him.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year: 2377

Kee and Jeff laid side by side to catch their breath. It wasn’t the first time they’d ended up in bed together over the last year. He’d called her out for missions from time to time and recently most of their missions had ended this way. Though, to be honest, a bed wasn’t always involved. And she was ok with that situation. It was just an emotional release after a dangerous mission, after all.

This time was different, though. This time it was the beginning of the mission, not the end of it. The moment she arrived at their meeting place, they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other. He hadn’t even briefed her on the mission yet. She looked over at him, “We really should stop doing this.”

He turned his head to her, “I was just thinking the same thing. This is the _last time_.”

“Agreed.” She wiped a thin glaze of sweat from her brow. “So, what’s the assignment?”

“Have you heard of Legate Doyak?”

“Used to be the head of the Cardassian third order?”

He nodded. “He still has a large number of troops that are more loyal to him than they are to the civilian government.”

Kee nodded, that didn’t seem to be uncommon after the war.

“The thing is that his support among what’s left of the military is growing and there are reports that he’s been accumulating ships, weapons and soldiers.”

“A coup?”

“That’s what we’re afraid of. And normally we’d stay out of it, but Doyak has been an outspoken opponent of any kind of cooperation with the Federation.”

“And if he succeeds in taking control of the government, SI is afraid that he’ll start up old hostilities?”

He shook his head. “SI doesn’t know anything about this… officially. This is an off-the-books mission even as far as SI is concerned. We’ll be blatantly breaking the Prime Directive.”

“Ah.” Understanding beginning to dawn. “So, are we going in to kill him? Expose him? Sabotage?...”

“We need to slow him down long enough for the civilian government and what’s left of the rest of the military to be able to respond before he makes his move.” Then he switched to his ‘agent’ tone of voice. “If he happens to be killed in the process, I don’t think either the Federation or the Cardassian people would object.”

“Understood.”

“We’ll leave first thing in the morning.” He said, pushing up onto one elbow and leaning down to kiss her.

“I thought we weren’t going to do this again.” She teased.

He put on an innocent expression, which, being an SI agent, would have been extremely convincing if she didn’t know him better. “This all counts as the same one.”

She laughed, “Well, that sounds logical to me.” Then she pulled him down for a kiss.

* * *

Kee cinched up the laces on her boots as she and Jeff finished up their plans. No cover stories this time, no disguises or costumes. Just get in, get the guy talking and get out.

“I’ll listen in on the earpiece and if it seems like you’ve hit a dead end, I’ll jump in.” He said. Their target, a Finnean named Majub, had been flagged by SI as delivering illicit cargo to Doyak. All they needed was to extract the drop location from him to try to find out where Doyak was hiding out.

“If I can get him to take me up to his room, I might be able to get the information more efficiently.”

“No. Do _not_ seduce him.”

“Why not?”

“It’s too risky.”

“We’ve used that strategy lots of times and it always works.”

“Just don’t. That’s an order.”

“Fine.” She said, reluctantly backing down. “I’ll give you a signal if it seems like I’m losing him.”

* * *

Kee sauntered into a bar on the bottom floor of the hotel where Majum was registered as a guest and located him at the bar. _Why is it always a bar?_ She wondered. She slid onto the stool two seats down from him. “Maraltian Seev-ale.” She told the man across the bar and dropped the appropriate amount of money onto the surface in front of him.

Before the bartender turned away, Majub scooted over to the stool next to her and slid her money back to her. “I’ll cover that.”

Kee looked him up and down with disdain. “That’s ok. I can pay for my own drink.” She said and slid the money back forward.

He moved her money back to her once again. “No. I insist.”

“Really. I’m fine. You look like you need to save your money.”

“Don’t let my appearance fool you. I have plenty to cover even the most expensive drink you could order.”

Kee finally collected her money. “Somehow I find that hard to believe.”

He began leaning intimately toward her as though his charm was winning her over. “I assure you, I’m running quite a lucrative business.”

“Well, then,” She said, picking up the glass the bartender set in front of her, “I guess you’re buying my drinks for the night.” She raised her glass toward him then downed it all at once.

* * *

After the fourth drink Kee’s stomach was beginning to protest and hoped she wouldn’t have to keep this up much longer. She’d unbuttoned her top to accentuate her cleavage, claiming that the drinks were making her too warm.

“… and I told him that if he didn’t agree to the deal, I’d take him out right then and there.” Majub told her proudly.

She laughed on cue as though she were drunk, although she felt nothing due to the inhibitor she’d taken earlier. Jeff groaned in her earpiece.

“Another drink?” He asked, waving the bartender over.

She sighed and appeared to think it over, “No. It’s been fun spending your money, but I should be going.”

“Wait! Stay a bit longer.”

“I don’t think you can afford to keep this up.”

“Believe me. I can afford to keep you entertained all night.” He boasted.

She laughed again, “I still don’t believe you.”

“I have my own ship and I run cargo to some very wealthy clients.” He insisted.

“Right.” She said with a flirty smirk.

“I’m staying in the most expensive suite in this hotel.”

“Really?” She put some uncertainty into her voice.

Jeff’s voice came over the comm in her ear. _“No, Kee. Don’t do it.”_

“Really.” Majub repeated. “Would you… like to see it?”

 _“Kee, do_ not _go with him. That’s an order.”_

She overacted thinking it over and finally smiled at him sideways. “Ok.”

_“Damnit, Kee!”_

Sliding off of the stool, she allowed him to take her arm and guide her to the lift. Once inside and alone, he slyly slid his arm around her waist, his hand coming to rest low on her hip. When the lift finally reached its destination, they stepped directly into the entry of an ostentatious suite.

“Wow!” Kee feigned amazement. “All this from delivering cargo to a few clients?”

“It’s actually just one client.” He bragged.

“You must have made quite a deal with them.” She put a pout into her voice before saying, “And you’re really staying up here _all_ by yourself?” She twisted in his grasp to face him and his other hand found its way to her hip.

“It does get lonely here.” He said.

 _“Ugh!”_ Jeff groaned in her ear.

Majub reached toward the door to secure the lock but Kee stopped him. “Don’t. It’s more exciting that way, isn’t it?” She said with a sensual laugh and he joined her.

She clamped down her squeamishness and reached forward to kiss him gently, trying to ignore the repulsive lumpiness of his lips.

After a moment, he pulled back. “Would you like to see the bedroom?”

She pulled out of his arms playfully, taking a guess at the direction of the bedroom. “What kind of a girl do you think I am?”

He followed her lecherously, “The kind of girl who’s already heading toward my bedroom.”

As soon as she had led him into his bedroom, she grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt and pressed her lips hard against his for a moment, then playfully bit his bottom lip as she pulled back.

He eagerly pulled her toward the bed and sat down on the edge. She pushed him back so he would move up on the bed and lay down while she climbed up to straddle him.

“I even only have to make one run every few weeks to the client to pay for all of this.”

“The delivery must be pretty far away.”

“That’s the best part, I only have to show up at certain coordinates in the Topin system and they beam the cargo directly out of my hold. I don’t even have to interact with them. And I get to spend the rest of my time here.”

She leaned down over him so that her hair fell around her face. “Rare cargo, then?”

He pulled her down to whisper in her ear, “Illegal cargo. Weapons.”

She pulled back and bit her bottom lip with a smile, reaching down to unbuckle her belt. Then she pulled it out with a playful flourish.

He laughed in anticipation.

Kee grabbed his wrists, pulled them over his head and began wrapping the belt around them while giggling suggestively.

He made a surprised yelp when she cinched the belt tight around his wrists but grinned in anticipation as she looped the end of the belt around the headboard and tied it tight. He tried to lift up to kiss her again, but instead she straightened up and climbed off of the bed.

“Did you get that?” She asked, dropping all playfulness from her voice.

“What?” Majub asked, uncertainly.

 _“Kee, I gave you a_ direct order!” He said, storming into the room mid-sentence.

“Who are you?” Majub demanded, panic seeping into his voice.

Kee ignored him and reached up to turn off the comm unit. “I got the information.”

“That’s not the point. I told you specifically not to do it this way.”

“You know as well as I do that _this_ is the most effective way to get what we need.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“‘Too dangerous’?!” She heard her voice begin to raise, “You’re the one that said people like us rarely make it to retirement! Now _he’s_ somehow too dangerous?” She said, gesturing to the restrained man. “And we’ve done this _how_ many times? Why is it suddenly different now?” But she could guess the answer by the look on his face. “Oh. I get it. This is _exactly_ why you and I shouldn’t sleep together!”

“You slept with _him_?” Majub demanded.

“You’re absolutely right! In fact, we should _never_ have slept together in the first place!”

“I totally agree! We shouldn’t even be partners after that!”

“Fine! When this mission is over, I’ll put in to have you assigned to someone else!” He stalked over to Majub with a hypospray in his hand and dosed him with a sedative that would knock him out for three days.

“Good!” She said. Then they silently set about searching through the man’s belongings for something that would give them access to his ship.

* * *

They’d spent the next couple of days in near silence. Not in a hostile way, just carrying out the details of the mission, only talking when necessary. Which wasn’t often because they were almost always on the same wavelength, thinking the same things.

The coordinates and next meeting time were easy to find in Majub’s database. And he was a one-man operation, so it was a simple matter to take his ship while he was still sedated.

Jeff wasn’t sure what he had been thinking, trying to keep her from using one of the more powerful weapons in her arsenal. No, that was a lie, he knew what he was thinking. He hadn’t wanted to listen to her seduce their mark. He’d let this thing go too far, let it get personal, and now he was going to lose an exceptional partner.

With only a couple of hours to go before the meeting time he was working on setting up false biosigns so it would appear as though there was a single, male Finnean onboard. Kee was seated nearby checking through the logs to ensure they understood the transfer procedure.

Nearly finished with his task, he stood up to stretch his back and went over to the replicator. It was programmed only with Finnean foods and beverages, but he’d managed to find something similar to coffee made from a fig-like fruit. It tasted pretty awful, but it was better than the rest of the menu so he ordered two to be infused with caffeine.

“Thanks.” Kee said when he set a cup down next to her. She was doing that thing again where her scribbled notes came out in three different languages.

If they hadn’t been involved with SI, if they were ordinary Starfleet officers, maybe they could have had something. No, he told himself. If she wasn’t an agent, she’d still be involved with Ensign Dales. He honestly did have the best intentions when advising her to end her relationship with him, but the way things turned out, he came off looking like a jerk. What was done was done, though. And now he was about to lose her too, but it was no one’s fault but his own.

* * *

Kee and Jeff had gone over the transfer procedure three times to make sure they got it right. They would hold position at the specified coordinates. When the Cardassian ship showed up, it would transmit a challenge code to which they would send a response code. The cargo would be beamed away and the transaction would be complete. Afterward, they would let the Cardassian ship move off and follow them from a distance using the tracker they’d hidden among the cargo.

The Cardassian ship showed up right on schedule and Kee prepared to send the response code.

“Receiving the challenge code.” Jeff told her.

“Sending response.” She said, then waited for sensors to report the cargo had been transported out, but instead the control panel beeped urgently at them. “They’re charging weapons!”

“What? Did we miss something?”

“No. We followed the logs exactly.” The ship shuddered as the Cardassians locked a tractor beam onto them. There must be something she’d missed. Unless the logs were purposely wrong. A security policy by Majub, maybe. Or by the Cardassians, Majub didn’t seem devious enough for that. “What do you want to do? Fight back? Talk our way out of it?”

He thought for a moment. “Open a channel.” He said, but instead of a response to the hail, they heard the sound of a transporter behind them.

Kee turned to bolt out of her chair but she wasn’t fast enough. One of the Cardassians grabbed her by the shoulder of her jacket and pulled her sideways out of her chair onto the floor. As she stumbled back, her head hit a protruding bulkhead.

Two other Cardassians rushed forward toward Jeff, one of them smashed his phaser rifle up into Jeff’s face. Kee tried to push herself off of the floor to help him, but her head was spinning. She must have hit pretty hard. She reached up to feel the side of her head and found her scalp sticky with blood.

The Cardassian who had grabbed her before lifted her back to her feet, the others had Jeff restrained up against the wall and she could see that his nose was bleeding. With sluggish reactions, she tried to break the Cardassian’s grasp on her, but instead he hauled her toward the back of the cockpit.

She struggled to keep her feet under her as she was pulled backward. The Cardassian found what he was looking for, an escape pod hatch. He punched the controls with the side of his fist to open the hatch, took out his phaser and blasted the control panel before shoving her inside.

She fell backward into the pod, grasping at anything that would give her leverage. The moment she had control of her movements, she launched herself back at the opening, but the hatch closed before she reached it.

“No!” The pod propelled itself away from the freighter and Kee gave one last, useless pound onto the hatch as the Cardassian ship went to warp with the freighter in tow.

With a steady drumbeat of curse words on her lips, she tried the control panel to find that it had been thoroughly crippled. She dropped to the floor in front of the controls and began working to remove the maintenance panel. If she could get the comm system working she could… what? She couldn’t contact the Endeavor, Starfleet could not be involved in this. There was only one person she could think of to call for help.

* * *

Ren propped his feet up on his desk while he read through his report on the Markalian shuttle filled with black market weapons they’d tracked down and confiscated. He made a couple of edits to the report and filed it away to be transmitted next time they were in range. With the Federation fleet still rebuilding after the war, they were relying heavily on Bajor’s militia to keep the peace in this area. Eight years ago, he’d never have believed he’d be out here policing the edges of Cardassian space.

Before he moved on to his next task, his console indicated an encrypted transmission coming in on a narrow subspace band. He keyed in the command to open and play the message.

 _“Ren. It’s me.”_ Kee’s strained voice came out of the computer. _“I need your help. I’m sending you my coordinates, or at least, the last coordinates I knew. I have no sensors, so I can’t tell you in what direction I’m going. I’m in an escape pod. This tricorder says I have about eight hours of air left, maybe I can stretch it to ten or twelve. Please hurry.”_

The transmission ended and he immediately sent the coordinates to his conn officer and headed out to the bridge.

* * *

The air was getting thin, stale. Kee tried to breathe slow and shallow. Her eyelids were heavy and she had to force them open every time she blinked. Just as she felt like she was going to lose the battle with consciousness, she felt the light sensation of a transporter and a moment later found herself sitting on a transporter pad looking up at Ren’s outstretched hand.

* * *

Kee sat patiently on a couch in Ren’s office while the ship’s medic treated her for a concussion. She wondered for a moment how many concussions she’d had during her life and realized with a bit of alarm that she couldn’t remember. That was probably a bad sign.

When he was finished, the medic healed the gash on her scalp with a dermal regenerator and gathered up his tools. “All done.” He told her before he nodded to Ren and left.

She waited while Ren stood at the other end of his office, preparing some coffee. When he was finished, he walked over holding two cups.

“Thank you.” She said as she took one of them and he sat down next to her. “Really. Thank you.”

“I’m always here for you.” He assured her. Even just that simple statement made her feel a bit better. “So, what’s with this?” He gestured to her attire, “Why aren’t you in uniform?” He asked.

“You mean, did I mouth off to the wrong person and got kicked out of Starfleet?” She said with a light laugh.

“Something like that.”

She enjoyed a laugh with him for a moment, then felt her smile drop. She considered telling him about her involvement with SI. She knew she could trust him with her secret. Prophets knew she needed to come clean to _someone_. The only person she had was Jeff and she was losing him to the bad decisions they’d made recently. And this was Ren. The man who’d made her into who she was. The man who’d trained her and kept her going all those years. The man who’d saved her life again and again. She came to realize he was the reason SI had wanted her in the first place. If she could trust anyone with this, she could trust him.

“I’ve been working with Starfleet Intelligence for about a year now.” She said slowly.

He leaned back with his eyebrows raised, but said nothing.

“I’m on an unofficial mission, completely off the books. My partner’s been captured and the stability of this region is at stake.”

Instead of lecturing her for digging herself into some kind of a hole, he simply said, “What can I do to help.”

She shook her head, “I don’t think there’s anything you _can_ do beyond pulling me out of that escape pod. We’re talking about a blatant violation of the Prime Directive here. You’re captain of a ship that belongs to a government who’s application for Federation membership will be approved any day now. You _can’t_ be involved.”

“That doesn’t matter. I’ll do whatever I can for you.”

“No. I mean it. If you’re found to be part of this, it could throw a monkey wrench into Bajor’s Federation membership. I can’t let that happen.”

“So, not a captain, but what about a few officers.”

She thought about that for a moment. Officers with lower rank than a captain could be passed off as rogue more easily. “If we’re caught, they’d be disavowed.” She warned. “And in Cardassian custody.”

“The people I have in mind are former Resistance, that won’t be a problem. What else do you need?”

“A ship and some guns, non-Starfleet and non-Bajoran.”

“Consider it done.” He said smoothly, propping his arm up along the back of the couch.

She took a sip of coffee, sweet with cream, just like she liked it and leaned back against him and rested her head on his outstretched arm. She might just be able to do this, she thought with a weary sigh.

* * *

After a short rest at the medic’s orders (to be honest, she’d fallen asleep on the couch in Ren’s office) and a shower, Kee walked with Ren to the shuttle bay and they stopped outside the closed doors. “Everything you need is right in there.” He told her.

“Thank you.” She told him. They’d been careful not to discuss any details of the mission and she desperately wished she could have him with her.

“I’ll need that shuttle back when you’re done.”

“In one piece, I assume?”

“Preferably.” He said with a laugh. “Be careful.” With a quick hug, he disappeared down the corridor.

Squaring her shoulders, she turned to the shuttle bay doors and stepped forward to trigger them to open. She stepped inside to find a group of four Bajorans in civilian clothes near a Markalian shuttle. She smiled, wondering how Ren had managed that so quickly. They straightened when they saw her and she walked up to stand in front of them.

“Ren has asked all of you to accompany me on an unsanctioned mission into Cardassian space. I am not here as a Starfleet officer and it has nothing to do with my position in Starfleet. As far as you’re concerned, this mission is on behalf of me and me alone. We will be blatantly breaking the Prime Directive and as such, if we are captured, we will be renounced by both the Federation and Bajoran government. This is a voluntary mission. If any of you want to back out, do so now. No one will think less of you.”

A young man in the back of the group raised his hand. “I will.” When everyone turned to him questioningly, he said, “I’ll think less of you if you back out.” He explained, bringing forth laughter from the group.

“Alright. Be sure you have no identifiable militia or Federation technology on you and let’s get moving.”

* * *

Kee sat in one of the two control seats with her legs propped up on the other one, keeping a preoccupied eye on the autopilot. When they had opened up the weapons crate in the hold, they found that it was what the Resistance used to call a ‘candy box’. A mix of all sorts of weapons and supplies: guns, knives, grenades, encrypted comm units, the works. She was certain she’d come up with a way to use every bit of it.

Once the Krehu had left them, the group had begun scanning for the transponder she and Jeff had hidden in the cargo. It may not lead them to Jeff, but where the source of the signal was, that would at least be a place to start. Assuming they hadn’t detected it and dumped it somewhere before reaching their destination.

Based on the heading and signal strength, they were projecting their destination to be either Velos, Torman or Vitar. There wasn’t much on Torman or Vitar. She’d read an SI report that Velos VII, on the other hand, was the location of an old Cardassian internment camp that had been turned into some kind of secret research facility about five years ago, she thought with a sinking feeling. She thought she remembered something about some Maquis and Cardassian settlements on other planets in that system, but they’d have been wiped out by the Jem’hader either when the Cardassians joined the Domionion or were being exterminated by them.

She heard the door to the aft compartment open and close. Jayur, the youngest of her team, maybe even younger that she was, stood next to the seat and she moved her feet for him to sit.

“You were Ren’s Second back in the Resistance, weren’t you?” He asked.

Kee laughed self-consciously, “I don’t know that I could be considered his ‘Second’. I was just a soldier under his command.”

“That’s not the way he talks about you.”

“He talks about me?”

“All the time. I doubt anyone under his command could live up to your standard.”

She lowered her eyes a bit embarrassed. “I never knew that.” She said softly. “There are times when I miss serving under him. You’re really fortunate.”

“Why did you choose Starfleet over the militia? You could have served on the Krehu.”

“When was the last time you were sent on a mission of this sort?”

He thought for a moment, “Not since the Resistance.”

“I do this every few weeks.” She said with a smirk.

The young man smiled, “Got it. Isn’t there anything in between?”

Kee only chuckled, “There doesn’t seem to be, does there?”

After an awkward stretch of silence, he said, “I’ll keep an eye on this if you’d like to go get some rest with the others.”

She hadn’t thought her fatigue was so obvious, but began to realize how tired she really was. They wouldn’t reach the source of the transponder signal, whatever it turned out to be, for at least another five hours. “Thanks.” She told him and stood to head to the aft compartment.

* * *

Kee woke to a hand gently shaking her shoulder. She blinked back into reality to find that Sife was the one who woke her up and he’d moved over to the other bunk to rouse Erjul as well.

“We’re just outside the Velos system. It looks like that’s the location of the tracker.” He told them.

Kee was up on her feet at once, pulling her jacket on over her tank top and following Sife to the forward compartment.

“Nice ink, by the way.” Erjul said as he followed her finding Ineg and Jayur at the controls.

“Keep us out of sensor range.” Kee told them. “Can you tell from here if they’re using the old internment camp as a base?”

“No, but I’ve been thinking about how to get close enough to take scans.” Ineg said as she pulled up some notes on the control panel. “We could set up a thoron field to project readings consistent with crystalized methane, throw in some traces of silicate and vent a mixture of atmospheric gasses and we’ll look like nothing more than a comet passing near the system. We could take a look and know for sure what we’re going into.”

Kee smiled, “That’s good, do it.” While Ineg set to work, Kee looked at the others. “Assuming they _are_ using the old prison as a base, do any of you know anything about the place?”

Erjul spoke up. “I do. I was there about ten years ago.”

“Do you know a way in?” Kee asked.

“I know a way _out_. ‘In’ is a different matter.”

“I want to know everything about that place. Any detail that you can remember.”

Erjul nodded and turned to work at a console at the back of the cockpit. 

Finally, Ineg spoke up, “Jayur, set a course on these coordinates and engage when you’re ready,” She said, sending the information to his console. “I’m bringing the thoron field online and venting the gasses.”

“Sife, run a full sensor sweep on our way through.” Kee ordered.

“On it.” He said.

Kee watched the readings scroll past on his screen. There was definitely more there than an old internment camp. They picked up small blips that could be freighters, larger ones to indicate warships. As they came within visual range they could confirm the presence of an armada of ships plus hundreds of weapons platforms scattered throughout the system.

“What is _that_?” Sife muttered as he enlarged the visual of the seventh planet. The old internment camp was clearly visible, but a massive structure seemed to have been added onto it.

“It’s a classified weapons research facility.” Kee said.

Ineg whipped her head around. “How do you know that?”

Kee shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. It looks like it’s intact.”

“The Cardassians must have hidden it from the Dominion, otherwise it would have been leveled a year ago.” Sife said.

“We’re picking up power readings, it must be functional. Can you tell how many Cardassians are down there?” She asked.

“Not at this range.” He said, and they wouldn’t be getting any closer either. They were now moving away from the system and didn’t dare change course yet.

Kee finally straightened up away from the readout. “Suggestions?”

“Land as close as we can to that facility, get in and split up.” Sife said. “One group goes for your partner, and the other checks out their base to see what we’re dealing with.”

“I agree.” Kee said. “The question is how… on all three of those propositions. Erjul, how’s it coming?”

He stepped back for the rest to see what he’d come up with. He’d drawn a remarkably detailed map of one entire cellblock as well as another arm that extended off from it. Sife input a command on his console to overlay the visual of the planet onto Erjul’s sketch, which matched up perfectly.

“You did this from memory?” Kee asked.

“Yeah.” He said as though there was nothing to it.

“Wow. I might just have to steal you when this is all over.” She bent over the sketch. “Walk us through this.”

“This is a cell block,” Erjul said, indicating a long corridor lined with cells, “Each cell, along with a small antechamber are closed off from the corridor each with independent security systems. Here at the end are interrogation rooms.” He pointed at a semicircle of six small rooms at the end of the wing. “There are at least ten cell blocks like this one, here, here,” he indicated similar parts of the structure visible on the sensor readout.

“What’s this over here?” Ineg asked, pointing to the other section he’d drawn.

“That’s how we got out. It’s a maintenance passage.”

“Do you think you can get back in that way?” Kee asked.

“I don’t know.” He said with finality.

Kee thought for a moment, “Alright. Once we get in, you and Ineg go find Riggs. Sife, Jayur and I will see what else we’re working with down there and come up with a plan to destroy or disable them and, if we’re lucky, find Doyak while we’re at it.”

“Are you going to kill him?” Ineg asked.

“That’s not the plan, but it’s not ruled out either.”

“I say do it and get it over with.”

Kee shook her head, “It never did the Cardassians any good to kill Resistance leaders. Someone always rises up to take their place. All it would do is turn him into a martyr.”

“How do we get down there?” Jayur asked.

“Well, we _have_ a Markalian shuttle.” Sife said, gesturing around them.

“Think we can pull that off?” She asked, following his line of thought. “The universal translator is too risky. Do any of you speak Markalian?”

In answer to her question, Erjul, Ineg and Jayur all pointed at Sife.

“How do you think we managed to seize this thing in the first place?” Ineg said.

“Okay, then, Ineg I trust you can make our biosigns look like there’s nobody here but us Markalians. Sife, look through the ships logs to find anything that would make our hoax more convincing.” To Jayur, she said. “Bring us around so that we enter the system as though we came from… I don’t know, the Badlands. Erjul and I will head aft and open up our candy box.”

* * *

Erjul promised he’d never come back to this place, yet here he was. And with the purpose of helping the Cardassian government no less! But Ren had chosen him for this mission and he wouldn’t let him or his protégé down. The Kerhu hadn’t seen much action over the last eight years, but Ren had more than earned the loyalty of everyone who served under him. And it seemed it was not something that was unique to the crew of the Krehu. To hear Kee talk, you’d think he was the Emissary himself.

Sife had bluffed his way into entrance to the system. Once they were through the checkpoint, Jayur plotted a casual flightpath until they were lost among the traffic and slipped down into the atmosphere of the seventh planet to land about a kelipate away from the outer shield perimeter.

As they walked near the shield, his skin began to tingle from the charge in the air. “We must be getting close.” He said, followed by murmurs of agreement from the others. When he had escaped all those years ago, they’d left by stowing away in a supply freighter and didn’t have to deal with the shields at all. “We’ll need to find an entry point. Shutting down a whole section of forcefield could trigger a lockdown.”

“Right.” Kee agreed as they reached a nearly invisible line on the ground that indicated the shield’s location. To the left, there was a relay box labeled _thirty-seven_ in Cardassian numerals. “There.” She said and led them to the meter-tall box. She knelt down in front of it and began tapping at the interface.

“That’s going to take a long time to crack—” Sife broke off his statement when the indicator displayed the Cardassian characters for _Access Granted_. “How…?”

“I have some low-level codes. Though, I wasn’t sure if any of them would work here.” She explained as she gripped the edges of the panel and yanked it off with a mechanical sound, then she leaned deep inside.

Erjul crouched down to peer inside. There was an opening through to the other side, but it was nowhere near large enough for any of them to fit through. At least, not until Kee began pulling components out. Soon she had removed a substantial pile of circuitry, casings and various other pieces of equipment.

“Would you like a hand with that?” He asked.

“No. I’m almost done. Just have to be careful not to pull something that’ll trip an alarm.” She said from inside.

A moment later, she backed out and he glanced in again to find the opening quite a bit larger. She handed him her phaser, then unbuckled her supply belt and handed him that too. Without a word, she inserted herself back into the box and reappeared on the other side, reaching back through for her phaser and belt.

Erjul and Ineg glanced at each other, she shrugged and followed. Then Jayur, then Erjul. He passed his phaser and belt forward before threading himself through the opening in the machinery. It was a tight squeeze, tighter than it probably was for the two women and the younger man. He twisted and inched through. Something caught on the waist of his pants and he had to reach down to unhook himself, but then the rest of him passed through more easily. Sife was the last one through. Erjul had his doubts whether he’d fit, but after pushing and pulling and twisting he was able to worm his way through to join the rest of them.

The distance to the inner shield wasn’t much farther. They hid themselves behind geological formations that were natural to this planet. As they approached the shield entry point nearest the maintenance entrance, they found a guard stationed there.

Sife pulled a comm unit off of his belt. “I have an idea.” He whispered as he pried the casing open. “Ineg, can you get me the exact frequency of his comm?”

She pulled out a tricorder and scanned the area passively, selecting and rejecting the plethora of random signals that floated around them all the time, finally finding the one she was looking for and held it up to Sife.

He input the frequency into the guts of the comm unit and snapped it closed. In a surprising imitation of a _Cardassian_ voice, he said, “Suspicious activity at relay box fourty-three. Nearby units are ordered to investigate.”

Erjul peeked around the edge. The guard stiffened, visually scanned the area and moved away from his post. As soon as they were clear, the group moved quickly to the entry point. Kee bent down to input her code again but only an error tone came in reply, so she pulled off the panel and reached deep inside. Seconds passed without the door opening. She muttered a decidedly vulgar curse and pulled her hand back out, “This has a multi-linkage bypass. I can’t get around it.”

Ineg stepped up and flexed her fingers. “Allow me.” She said confidently, and with good reason, he’d seen her do this before that time they were investigating an abandoned Cardassian facility they’d located on Bajor VIII. Her brow furrowed in concentration with a far-off look in her eyes.

“That patrol will be back any second.” Sife warned.

“Shut up.” She said dismissively in a sing-songy voice, a moment before the door slid open.

With a quick look around to be sure no one had seen them enter, they moved inside and allowed the door to close behind them. The smell hit him hard. Musty, dirty. The metallic smell of decades of spilled blood. Just like he remembered. But he forced himself onward anyway.

“Ok, here’s where we split up. You two find Riggs and contact us when you have him.” She told him and Ineg.

“Understood.” He said as the other three moved off.

* * *

Kee kept her mind focused on her job, not on Erjul’s and Ineg’s job. Ren would not have given her anything but the best of his crew, she knew she could trust their abilities. Still, there was always the possibility that he had been shipped off somewhere else or was already dead.

 _No, focus._ She reminded herself.

They moved through the empty, dark corridors of the old prison section toward the research facility. With the hum of power systems steadily growing louder, they stopped. “Jayur, scan the area ahead, passive scan only.” They had found only two tricorders in that box on their ship, but at least they had one per team.

“I’m picking up biosigns not far ahead, but without a full scan, I can’t tell if they’re in the corridor or the side rooms.”

“Alright. You two up for a crawl through maintenance tunnels?” Without waiting for a response, she looked above them for an access point. When she found one, Sife interlaced his hands to give her a boost. Once she had dislodged the grate, she pulled herself up and inside. Jayur followed and together they reached down to help Sife lift himself up.

These tunnels seemed a little smaller than she remembered as they crawled in the same direction they’d been heading earlier. As soon as they passed a line that clearly demarcated where the old construction ended and the new began, there were offshoots from the passage that presumably extended over various rooms.

Jayur continued to scan the area and shook his head at her for the first two rooms. They were occupied. The third room seemed to be empty, so she crept closer to the access opening to peer inside. The room was dark and silent below them. She took a chance and pulled a flashlight out of her belt. She clicked it on and passed it around the room. “We’re good.” She said, replacing the flashlight and beginning to pull away the grate.

Kee dropped down into the room and seated herself at a console. Her two accomplices lowered themselves into the room one by one and joined her.

“Think you can get into that?” Sife asked.

“We’re about to find out.” She said as she began to tap at the interface.

* * *

Jeff laid on the bunk of his cell and counted the squares in the ceiling grate. Unlike unsecured areas, the grate was thoroughly locked in place. One bolt was missing, but that wouldn’t do him any good, just drove him silently mad as he glared at it. He hadn’t heard a single word spoken in days. If not for the guard staring in his general direction for hours on end, he’d have thought they’d forgotten him here.

He’d manage to convince them that he and Kee were just after Majub’s payout, but only after they’d taken some time to beat him up a bit. They had to be sure, of course. His jaw hurt and his nose, and he was pretty sure he had a good shiner, too. But at least they seemed to be either too unconcerned or too busy preparing for their coup to bother torturing him.

He wondered about Kee. That escape pod would have run out of air long ago. She was resourceful and, with any luck, she’d found a way out of there. Though, there were plenty of very good, very resourceful agents who died in the field. And he would be one of them, too, if he couldn’t find a way out of here. He continued staring at that missing bolt.

As he pondered the fate of the individual who had removed it, he heard the keypad on the other side of the door being accessed. The door slid open to reveal a Bajoran man. Strange, he wouldn’t have expected a Bajoran here. It seemed the guard didn’t either and after a fraction of a second of shock he reacted by shoving the man up against the wall with his phaser rifle jammed sideways under his chin. “What are you doing here?” He demanded.

“Relax.” The man managed to croak. “I’m unarmed.”

The guard patted the man down with one hand, “What are you doing here?” He repeated.

“Look, I was in the neighborhood,” he said casually, “And I was wondering if _your mother_ was available.”

The guard fumed and pressed the rifle hard enough against the man’s neck that he couldn’t say any more. What he didn’t see was the silent red glow in the ceiling grate above him where someone was cutting through the duranium with a laser torch. While the guard continued to confront the man, Jeff saw fingers slip through the holes of the grate and lift it away, then a woman, not Kee, dropped silently to a crouch on the floor.

The man had managed to shift under the press of the rifle and continued, “See, last time I saw her, we had a _great_ time.”

With the guard in a near blind rage, the woman reached up with a knife behind the guard. She grabbed the back of his collar with one hand and with the other, she skillfully slid the knife deep into the side of his neck. 

The guard roared and reached back, but she gripped both his uniform and the knife so tightly that he couldn’t move. Blood splattered across her face as she sliced through an artery. The Bajoran man coolly grabbed the phaser rifle out of the guard’s hands as he stopped fighting and the woman lowered him to the floor.

“I’m Erjul, this is Ineg. We’re here with Kee.” The man said as the woman, Ineg, worked on the cell’s locking mechanism.

“Where is she?”

“She went on ahead with the others.” He said, rubbing a fresh bruise on his neck. As soon as the forcefield dropped, Ineg handed Jeff a phaser and a comm unit.

* * *

The comm unit Kee had set on the desktop blinked silently and she picked it up. “Kee.” She said into it.

 _“It’s me. Where are you?”_ Jeff’s hushed voice came from the little speaker.

“Stand by.” She told him as she called up a schematic. After a few false starts, they’d been able to convince the computer to accept one of her low-level codes and from there they pulled a few tricks between the three of them to gain deeper access. When she’d identified their position, she began inputting it into the comm unit, “I’m sending you our location now.”

A moment later he said, “We’ll be there shortly. I’m glad you’re alright.”

“Same here.” She said, then closed the channel.

With Jayur guarding the door, she and Sife continued to sift through logs and data files to try to find anything that would help them. “Take a look at this.” He said.

She leaned in closer to read what he’d found. “Do you think that’s why they chose this as their base?”

“Could be.”

As she continued studying the document, she heard noise in the ceiling above them. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jayur react, but not with alarm. Moments later Jeff dropped down into the room. “We’ve got a problem.” She told him. “I’m not entirely clear on the engineering concepts behind it, but it looks like during the war they’d been experimenting here with gravitic torpedoes modified with a poleric ion payload. From what I can tell, their goal was to cause a subspace rupture that would extend for a hundred-thousand kelometers from the detonation point.” She shook her head, “If they’re able to get these functional, they’ll be unstoppable with that kind of firepower.”

“Is there any way we can use the weapons to our advantage?” Jeff asked, jumping right in as though he’d been part of the team all along.

“We could trigger the explosives right here. Destroy them and the base.” Jayur suggested.

“No.” Ineg argued, “Even without these weapons, with the number of ships they have up there, they could still pose a significant threat to the civilian government.”

“What would happen if one of these was detonated _within_ subspace?” Erjul asked.

Sife’s brow furrowed as he searched his memory. “Without the restrictions of normal space, it would expand the range to four or five billion kilometers.”

“How would that affect normal space?” He asked.

“Antimatter.” Jeff said, following his line of thought, “It would be attracted to antimatter and would punch through into normal space at any point where there’s antimatter.”

“We could take out every ship in the system.” Kee jumped in.

“Are you sure about that range?” Jeff asked Sife.

“It’s only a theory I read once.” He offered.

“It’ll have to do.” Jeff said, leaning over the console again. “How far along are the weapons? Are they fully functional?”

“It looks like they’ve done some testing out beyond the Vanden system.” Kee continued to dig around in the files and found an incomplete requisition for ignition components. She couldn’t stop a short laugh, “The only thing holding them up is a shipping delay.”

“Let me take a look at one of those.” He said, pointing to a grenade on her belt. She handed it to him and he opened up the discharge unit. “Remote detonation?”

“Yep.” She said, slipping the remote out of her pocket for him to see.

Jeff turned away as he inspected the device and Ineg peered over his shoulder. “Are you thinking about using these detonators on the torpedoes?” She asked.

“Do you think it’s possible?”

“All you need for a bomb is an ignition source and an explosive. Everything else is a technicality.” She nodded confidently, “we can make it work.”

“Now, the question is, how to we detonate one of them in subspace?” Kee asked.

Each of them looked at the others in silence before Jayur spoke up. “Just double it up. Blow up one in normal space to open up a rupture, then send in a second one.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Jeff said. “Now we just have to get our hands on two of those torpedoes.”

Kee already had that covered. “Their test ship is in a docking bay on the other side of the compound with four gravitic torpedoes and their modified launchers.”

“The four of you, get to that test ship and see what we have to work with. We’ll want false biosigns, automated preprogrammed flight controls… same thing for weapons, anything else you think we might need. Kee and I will head to the command center and see if we can find Doyak.”

* * *

Ineg followed her team in the general direction of the shuttle bay. They’d had to make a few detours already to avoid Cardies, maintain the element of surprise as long as possible. The faster they could get this over with the better. She was looking forward to getting back and showering this smell off of her. Ever since that guard’s blood had splattered across her, she kept getting pungent whiffs of it that made her gag.

“The shuttle bay should be just around this corner.” Jayur said in low tones.

Before they reached the corner, though, they could hear voices up ahead. Sife waved them backward, but more footsteps resonated through the corridor behind them. _So much for the element of surprise, _she thought as she raised her phaser toward the group approaching ahead of them.__

* * *

Kee slinked through the corridor with Jeff. There were a lot more Cardassians here than in the older section, and the maintenance tunnels weren’t exactly accessible with alarmed locks installed on all of the entry points. Sure took the Cardassians long enough to decide to do that.

The pair approached an intersection. Kee covered while Jeff went through, then he covered her as she followed. They’d made good progress toward the command center, creeping closer and closer. She didn’t know if they’d find Doyak there, and if they did, what was Jeff’s plan? A straight-up assassination was way out of character for him, but she wasn’t sure what else they could do. There was no possible way to just talk it out.

Just as they reached the last stretch of corridor before the command center, an alarm began to blare. She glanced down and around to see if there was any indication of a security device that they might have tripped, but there was nothing. A door just up ahead opened and Kee and Jeff both ducked into doorway alcoves on opposite sides. They pressed themselves against the wall as pairs of soldiers hurried past.

The others must have caused the alert, but there was nothing they could do for them other than continue. Once the corridor was empty again, Jeff waved her forward with him. When they reached the door, she tried the keypad, but it was locked. She was about to bend down to see if she could bypass it when the door opened and a Cardassian marched right past them only to turn back around when he realized they were there.

Kee wrapped one hand around the door to keep it open and fired at the soldier as he was reaching for his weapon. “Well, that was a freebee.” She told Jeff, who was already charging phaser first into the room.

With the element of surprise, they picked off five Cardassians from their position at the doorway before being forced to dive for cover in different directions. Unfortunately, the cover she’d chosen was already occupied by a Cardassian who lunged for her, knocking her down. The phaser tumbled out of her hand.

She braced herself against a console and kicked into his gut, then straightened up to punch him in the face, shifted her weight for leverage and kicked his chest, knocking him backward.

Another Cardassian grabbed her from the side and swung a punch at her but she blocked it while grabbing his arm. She continued the twisting motion around to bend his arm behind him and slammed him up against a console.

A third one charged toward her, but she kicked behind her to drive him back. Then she pulled number-two up and swung him around to smash head-first into a railing. The railing broke apart and pieces tumbled and bounced noisily in every direction.

The third one that joined the fight grabbed her from behind but she heaved him over her shoulder and pressed him against a bulkhead just as number-two recovered and rushed towards them. Without letting go of number-three, she grabbed a piece of broken railing and swung it back to connect with number-two’s face.

She turned back to number-three and kneed him hard in the stomach. He doubled over but managed to grab her around the waist and, using his head as a ram against her stomach he shoved her backward down a short flight of stairs and into a console.

He straightened and leaned back to strike but she kicked him in the chest. While he was still dazed, she grabbed the side of his head and smashed it into a console, shattering the surface.

Without even the time it took to take a breath, a fourth Cardassian grabbed her from behind and threw her over a console like she weighed nothing. She rolled across and when she dropped down to the floor, she found another piece of railing. She grabbed it and when number-four came close enough, she swung it up to bash his nose, then changed direction and swung again sideways to crush his jaw.

She stepped around behind him before he could lash out and hooked the bar under his chin and pulled hard to cut off his air supply. He struggled, hard, she was about to lose her grip so she yanked to the side and recognized the distinct sound of a neck breaking.

With their colleagues out of the line of fire, phaser blasts pounded the consoles around her and she dove for cover to find Jeff also there waiting out the onslaught. “So, you were saying about a freebee…?” He commented.

* * *

With their goal mockingly close, Jayur crouched behind a supply crate with his crewmates. Was it less than a day ago that he was thinking back to the days in the Resistance with nostalgia?

“You two get behind that stack over there.” Sife said to Jayur and Erjul, indicating another stack of supply crates to their right. “We’ll cover you, then Jayur, you continue on to the ship while the rest of us cover you.”

“Understood.” He told his superior.

Ineg moved off to the left. As soon as she was in position, she and Sife began firing rapidly. Jayur and Erjul ducked low and fired blindly as they ran to their new position. As soon as they stopped firing, the Cardassians resumed their assault.

Jayur only took a moment to catch his breath before moving to the far edge of the stack. When he was ready, the others began laying down cover fire again. To conceal his movements, he himself didn’t open fire, only ducked down low enough to obscure him from the Cardassians that hopefully were blinded by his colleagues’ weapons.

He had no such luck. Phaser blasts pounded the decking around his feet as he ran. One of them finally made contact with his knee and he stumbled forward, gritting his teeth against the pain, but he managed to keep his footing and limped the rest of the way behind the ship to the aft hatch.

He gulped for breath and fought the pain while struggling to focus on the work of overriding the lock, which wasn’t turning out to be an easy task. Kneeling on his good knee, he used the butt of his phaser to knock the panel off of the locking mechanism, then reached inside to see what he was dealing with. Ineg had taught him a good deal about Cardassian locks. With weapons fire still roaring nearby, he manipulated the isoliniar rods and linkages until the hatch obediently opened up.

The lights came up as he limped inside. Much of the interior structure had been removed to make room for the bulky testing equipment. As he moved through the shell of a ship, Jayur hoped what he needed would still be installed. He found what would have been the compact cockpit had the walls not been removed and began searching the consoles. Finally, he found the transporter controls, but when he tried to get a lock on the others, he found that the Cardassians had put up a dampening field. He would have kicked the console in frustration if his knee didn’t hurt so bad.

* * *

“Did you see whether Doyak is in here?” Kee had to shout to Jeff to be heard.

“No, he’s not.”

Over the constant drumming of weapons fire Kee heard a softer noise and realized it was her comm. She pulled it off of her belt and held it closer to her ear. “Repeat.” She shouted into it.

 _“I’m on the ship and I can transport you out, but I need you to shut down the dampening field first.”_ Jayur’s voice was barely audible.

“Stand by.” She told him. “We need to shut down a dampening field.” She told Jeff, who couldn’t possibly have heard the message.

Jeff looked around for a functional console and found one a few meters away that somehow hadn’t been blasted yet. She leaned out from where they were hiding and shot back at the Cardassians to give him a chance to get to it. He worked the console from a kneeling position, reaching up almost blindly to input commands.

Kee continued firing towards the other side of the room to hold them back while he worked. Finally, he gave her the Human thumbs-up signal and she reopened the comm. “The dampening field should be down now.”

_“It is. I’m beaming the other three onboard now. I’ll transport you next.”_

The noise had diminished enough for Jeff to hear and he held up one finger to her while he continued to work on the console.

“Not yet, Jayur. Stand by.” She told him then to Jeff, “If Doyak’s not here, we need to go.”

“Just give me a minute.” He said, locating a stash of empty isoliniar rods.

Kee rolled her eyes as he downloaded something he’d found on that console. “There isn’t time for that!” Finally, he pulled the rod out of the interface and nodded to her as she heard advancing bootsteps.

“Energize!” She said and the room disappeared around them to be replaced by the gutted interior of a Cardassian ship.

The two of them quickly stood up and Jeff moved closer to the control area. “Does this thing have standard weapons?”

“Coming online now.” Erjul said.

“Program the autopilot to take the ship out into the system.” He ordered.

“Already done.” Sife said.

“Program two gravitic torpedoes to launch and detonate sequentially as soon as the ship is out of the atomosphere.”

“Working on that now.” Erjul said.

“False biosigns?” He asked.

“Finishing that up now.” Ineg said.

“Well… then as soon as that’s all done, we’ll lift off, beam down to your shuttle and get out of here.”

While the Militia officers worked, Kee stood next to Jeff. “What was all that back there?” Kee demanded.

“This.” Jeff said, inserting the isoliniar rod into a compatible port on the rear console.

Several files automatically loaded and she skimmed the text. “Doyak’s dead.” She concluded.

“Has been for almost a year now.” He said as she read further. “They hid it from the troops using holograms and old footage.”

“Which means, once we make this public, it will be nearly impossible for his guls to rebuild their support without having him as a figurehead.” She sighed, “Ok, you weren’t wrong to get this.” She admitted.

The deck shifted slightly as they lifted off and the ship automatically switched over to artificial gravity. Once they were out of the shuttle bay, Sife said, “Any last requests before we initiate?”

Jeff shook his head, “I think you’ve covered everything.”

“Three Gallor-class ships are heading this way.” Erjul said.

“I _bet_ they are.” Ineg muttered, then more loudly, “It’s ok, the autopilot will take appropriate evasive maneuvers and we’ve programmed the phasers to respond as well. It’ll survive at least long enough to deliver the payload.”

“Let’s get out of here, then.” Jeff said.

Jayur, still at the transporter controls input the appropriate commands. “I can only send three at a time.”

“Understood.” Jeff said and the room disappeared in the whirl of the transporter beam, then he, Kee and Sife were back on the Markalian ship. Followed a moment later by the other three.

Sife sat down in the pilot seat. “Plotting an expeditious departure.” He said dramatically as he worked.

Kee watched the horizon of the planet disappear, then the blue atmosphere faded into the black starscape she’d become accustomed to.

“The Cardassians are opening fire on the test ship.” Ineg reported. “But it doesn’t look like they’ve even noticed us.”

A moment later, the stars stretched into streaks and they left the ill-fated system and ships behind. Kee stood behind Ineg, watching the sensor readout. The distance between them and the disaster about to happen increased steadily before the sensors detected the first explosion followed by indications of a subspace rift, then, just as they passed one lightyear distance, the second explosion. The computer displayed the readings visually as the reaction spread across the system like a spider web. Textual representations of each ship destroyed appeared all over the screen.

“It looks like a few ships made it out before it went off, but they’re scattered in every direction.” Ineg said.

Kee stood up and stretched her back. In the quiet that followed, she suddenly realized that Jeff was standing in the middle of the cockpit, smiling. “What are you smiling about?”

“I was just thinking about how when Bajor joins the Federation, the Militia will be merged into Starfleet.” He said quietly enough that the others wouldn’t hear.

She joined in his smile. “Starfleet’s going to have to make some room.”

* * *

The members of Ren’s crew would take the Markalian ship back to the Krehu after dropping Kee and Jeff off just outside the Federation colony on Hakton VII. They materialized on a grassy hill overlooking the colony. Even in the dark night, Kee could see the areas where the settlement was still in the process of being rebuilt after the Dominion had wiped out the Maquis colonists there three years ago.

Instead of going down into the settlement right away, Jeff sat down on the grass and she joined him. “We need to talk about this.” He said.

“Yes, we do.”

“I’m just going to lay it all out here.” He sighed. “You’re beautiful, and intelligent and strong. And all of that makes you _really_ sexy.” He said with an uncharacteristically nervous laugh. “And maybe there are some feelings that have developed, but that doesn’t mean they have to continue.” He watched the far-off settlement. “Our partnership means a lot more to me than anything romantic that could possibly happen between us. We’re a great team. I don’t want us to split up.”

“I agree completely. I’m very much attracted to you. Obviously. But we can’t be both partners and…” She searched for the right word, but came up with nothing, “…whatever you want to call what we would become. And I’d much prefer to be partners.”

“Partners, then.” He said, reaching out his right hand sideways to her.

She grasped it with hers, “Partners. And nothing more.”

She watched the stars in the night sky for a long time, locating Bardeezi, Regulon, Fahleena and eventually B’hava’el. It always fascinated her how different stars could look from another vantage point. Even her home system seemed to tiny, so far away. Yet from there, this planet’s sun was merely just a star among countless others. At twenty lightyears away, the light that was just arriving here had left B’hava’el while Bajor was still occupied. Her mind drifted back to the last time she’d sat on a hillside back home, looking at this very star.

“You look a million lightyears away.” Jeff commented.

“No. Only about twenty.” She sighed softly. “The last time I just sat and stared at the stars…” She found herself lost in the memory for a moment. “There was some Cardassian military base, I don’t remember what its purpose was. We went in, planted our bombs. Traie and I were separated from the rest. We had to fight our way out, but we made it. Somehow, we’d survived. We were covered head to toe with dirt, blood, soot, whatever, so exhausted that we just collapsed right there on a hill overlooking the burning rubble.”

Jeff continued looking up without interrupting.

“Then the clouds opened up and we could see the stars. The Runners, Kelvas, Almatha, the faint haze of the badlands, even this planet’s star. Embers from the fire floated up like fireflies. It was so beautiful.” The memory sent chills down her spine even in the worm evening. “But then the skimmers showed up and we had to retreat into the woods. Between the clouds and hiding in the tree cover, we didn’t see the stars for months. Until… until that mission to the moon in the Panora system.” She automatically located that star, too, a bright white one.

Jeff didn’t say anything, only sat there in the silence. That mission had set in motion events in both of their lives that directly lead them back together. For that, she was thankful, but even now, not a day went by without thinking of what she’d lost there.


	5. Soon she was enveloped in darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year: 2378

Kee stood at the tactical station of the Endeavor. It hadn’t been easy to adjust to gamma shift, but it was the only slot available at tactical and bridge duty was still bridge duty. The rest of the gamma bridge crew worked quietly, only the sounds of their consoles breaking the silence. The captain had remained on the bridge more than an hour after the end of beta shift, but it wasn’t unusual for her to stay even longer than that.

They were just leaving the Canopus system after delivering supplies to a Federation deep-space outpost there. Interrupting her round of routine tasks, her console beeped softly at her when something tripped the sensors, but Lieutenant Campos at ops spoke up before she did. “Captain, sensors are detecting an object less than half a lightyear away. It’s tiny, no more than twenty meters across but it’s emitting a form of chroniton field.”

“On screen.” Captain Russel ordered.

Campos obeyed and automatically magnified the object. As it enlarged on screen, Kee felt her mouth gape open. The hull of the little ship reminded her of a turtle but with long, skinny struts sticking out of it like insect legs. Tatters of a gold mesh hung off of the broken struts, the little bits that were still intact waivered in the solar eddies like wind was blowing on them. As the ship turned lazily in space a huge, gaping hull breach became visible. “That’s a Bajoran lightship.” She announced to no one in particular.

“All the way out here?” The captain asked.

Kee checked her sensors, “Readings suggest that it’s very old. It could have been drifting in space for as much as seven hundred years. If the solar sales were intact during a significant amount of that time, it’s possible for it to have drifted this far.”

Russel nodded. Her interest piqued, she walked closer to the tactical station. “What about the chroniton field? Is that something normal for these kinds of ships?”

Kee shook her head, rechecking the readings on the energy signature. “No, even if they had that technology back then, any powered devices they used would have stopped functioning long ago.”

“If the remains of the crew are still aboard the ship, are there any cultural objections to us beaming over?”

“No.”

“Then alert the senior staff, and ask Commander Hawkins to assemble an away team.” Russel said with excitement in her eyes.

“Yes, sir. I’d like to be on that away team.”

“Of course, Lieutanant.”

* * *

The small away team, only three members, beamed into the lightship. Their bulky environmental suits made it difficult to move in the tiny space meant for only two people. As they shined their wrist beacons around the forward compartment they found it empty. Through the breach in the hull they could see Endeavor not far away, keeping watch over the eerie scene. They had decided not to use a tractor beam to steady the ship for fear that it could break it apart.

 _“The gravity plating is still functional.”_ Commander Hawkins reported back along the open comm.

 _“No bodies so far.”_ Ensign Anderson said. Then turned to Kee, realizing how flippant his remark had come across. _“Sorry.”_

Following the readings on her tricorder she traced the location of the chroniton signature back to the aft compartment. As the three officers’ lights panned back she saw stacks of books, some of them open, their pages crumbling apart. “Why didn’t they get blown out into space when the hull breached?”

_“I’m reading hundreds of microfractures, it’s possible the air leaked out slowly before the major breach happened.” Hawkins suggested. Hopefully the crew was long dead before that happened._

Continuing her slow revolution to the rear of the ship, light glinted off a shiny surface on the floor. “What is that?” Her beacon lit up hundreds of what looked like tiny, black jewels strewn across the floor. When she panned a little farther she had her answer. An orb box lay on its side, empty, next to the scattered shards of its contents.

 _“Is that an orb?”_ Anderson asked.

Kee stared at the pieces, it didn’t seem possible. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of an orb being damaged, much less shattered.”

 _“And the color.”_ Hawkins added.

 _“That’s definitely the source of the chronitons.”_ Anderson said, pointing his tricorder at the floor.

She knelt down to pick up a piece and held it up to the light from Anderson’s beacon. The blackness of the fragment had a depth to it that seemed unreal and she found herself staring, unable to break away. Tendrils of darkness curled around her and she forgot to breathe. Soon she was enveloped in darkness…

Cadet Norv was shoved into line with other Starfleet officers and cadets. Her body ached, her legs felt like they were going to collapse, her knuckles were bruised and bloodied from fighting the Jem’hadar soldiers that had laid siege to Earth. When the minefield at the wormhole had been disabled and the Emissary flew his ship into it, she’d hoped the prophets would intervene. Instead, the Emissary and his crew had been killed.

Dominion reinforcements poured through the wormhole. Starfleet officers and federation citizens across the quadrant were slaughtered. Starfleet no longer existed, Earth and the other founding members of the Federation were conquered.

The few remaining officers and cadets were being corralled into prison camps. Most of them looked as exhausted as she felt. Many of them were maimed and needed medical help, but it didn’t look like they were going to receive it any time soon. Kee lifted her bound hands to touch a swelling bruise on her eyebrow to find that the cut on the palm of her had had reopened.

A group of Jem’hadar and Cardassians were moving along the line of prisoners, scanning each one and occasionally pulling someone out of line to be taken away. She thought about attacking one of the soldiers, it didn’t matter which one. She’d be dead before she could do any damage, but the thought didn’t bother her as much as it once would have. After a lifetime of fighting, she was tired. She didn’t want to live like this, not again.

A Cardassian scanned her and checked the readings, then grabbed her by her upper arm and pulled her out of line. For whatever purpose, she’d been chosen.

With a Cardassian on one side and a Jem’hadar on the other, she was escorted into a newly erected building. The same one the others had disappeared into. They led her down a long corridor lined with closed doors. She could hear shouting and banging on the other side of the doors: the others who had been taken out of line.

When they reached an open cell they shoved her inside. As soon as the doors closed she was plunged into complete darkness. She felt around and found walls less than an arm length around her on each side, then reached up and touched a ceiling less than half a meter above her head. Every surface was completely smooth, even the door, no weakness to exploit, no way out.

Panic gripped her heart.

\- - -

Kee sat in the darkness of her cell for a long time holding her knees to her chest. Her eyes began to feel heavy and her head dropped to rest on her knees. Just as she felt herself slipping away into sleep, a bright light lit up the space. With her eyes blinded by the light she heard the cell door open and cold Cardassian hands lifting her up. She raised her arms to protect herself, but it was no use, he slammed the end of a truncheon hard into her stomach. She doubled over and fell to her knees. The door closed and she was once again in complete darkness, gasping for breath.

\- - -

The same scenario played out over and over. Her exhausted mind wanted desperately to fall into sleep only to awaken a moment later by a bright light and beating. She had no sense of time. She’d been fed several times and the cut on her hand had begun to heal, so it could have been a week or more. There was no way to tell. Even if there were some indication of the passage of time, her mind was so blurred from pain and lack of sleep that she wouldn’t have been able to track it anyway.

\- - -

She struggled to open her eyes every time they blinked. Whatever purpose they had for this torture, she couldn’t guess. They’d never asked her any questions. And why her? She was only a cadet, she didn’t have any information for them anyway. There had to be some other reason for this.

\- - -

She must have forgotten to force her eyes back open because the light blinded her again. When the door opened, she pushed herself into the corner, raising her arms to cover her face and screamed, “What do you want from me?!”

Instead of beating her again with his truncheon, he lifted her to her feet and yanked her out of the cell. She blinked, trying to clear her vision, but he wouldn’t wait, he shoved her down the corridor, guiding her around corners, through the facility that was much more immense than it had been before. Finally arriving at a set of doors guarded by two Jem’hadar, he opened them and pushed her inside so hard that she fell to her hands and knees.

As she heard the doors close, she felt hands on her shoulders and back. Not Cardassians or Jem’hadar, but human. She looked up to find that she was in prison barracks with other Starfleet officers.

“Easy now.” Someone said as they helped her to a bunk.

Her legs and back were so stuff from the tiny box she’d been locked in that just stretching out was painful.

“It’s alright, you can sleep now.” A woman with red hair and a kind face said.

“What’s happening?” Kee said weakly.

“We believe they were separating out the individuals most likely to foment rebellion. Either to break us or show us what the punishment would be.” The man who’d spoken said. In her sluggish mind she began to recognize him, Captain Picard.

“How long?” She whispered.

“It’s been a little over two weeks. You lasted longer than I did.” He said.

The woman with the kind face stopped him from saying more. “We can answer all of your questions when you’ve rested a while.”

That sounded fine to her. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

\- - -

It had been a fitful sleep. She kept waking up startled, expecting the light, the pain. But by morning her mind was starting to feel more clear, though her body still ached. The others explained to her that they were being forced to work, building structures all over Earth for the Dominion. They’d soon come for them to put them to work for the day. They feared that sometime soon they would be forced to begin stripping the planet of its natural resources.

She wasn’t surprised to find that despite their attempts to break them, there were already the beginnings of rebellion. Not even sure if they had any chance of succeeding, she wouldn’t hesitate to join them.

\- - -

Kee held a piece of support beam in place while another laborer fastened it into place. Starfleet officers had been forced to build these massive facilities all over Earth and, presumably, on other Federation worlds as well. Jem’hadar and Cardassian soldiers watched from scaffolding above them and were quick to punish any sign of hesitation. Once the beam was secured she let her arms drop for only a moment before hoisting the next one. Her shoulders ached but she ignored it, best not to draw attention to herself.

Jean-Luc was delivering a load of supplies and managed to move close enough to her to whisper. “I have news.” He’d been organizing a small resistance cell that included herself and Beverly, a Bolian named Braws as well as a handful of others that she didn’t yet know. He kept his voice low and his eyes on his work. If they were caught communicating, the two would be punished, but even worse, permanently separated. “We managed to find a crashed Jem’Hadar ship from the siege last year.”

“A ship? Where?”

“It appears that when it went down it crashed through the bedrock and into a network of tunnels not far from here. I do not believe the Dominion is even aware of it. Braws thinks it might be salvageable.”

“You want to repair it?!” She struggled to keep her voice down.

“This is our best chance. But we need an engineer.” Most engineers had been executed right away to prevent any rebellion from gaining an advantage.

“See that half-Klingon over there?” She subtly gestured, “I’m pretty sure she’s an engineer.”

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know her name, but she has ‘Starfleet Engineer’ written all over her. From what I understand, she was on some ship in deep space when the war broke out. They returned to Federation space only a few weeks ago, right into the waiting arms of the Jem’hadar. They say the ship and most of the crew were lost.” She’d heard this engineer had also lost a husband and child.

“I’ll see if I can talk to her. We’ll need a pilot, too.”

She could definitely help him with that one. She’d seen Loren a few times in another workgroup as they crossed paths. If she could get to him, she was sure he’d join them. “I have someone in mind.”

“Make it so.” He whispered and moved on.

\- - -

Cables and pieces of broken conduit hung from the ceiling of the derelict Jem’hadar ship’s bridge. Kee wasn’t concerned about that right now, B’Elanna was in charge of repairs. Her task, along with Loren was to plan their escape. They’d need to either sneak past the Jem’hadar and Cardassians or fight their way out and right now neither option looked like it was going to work.

Loren leaned over her shoulder to study the results of the simulation displayed on the tactical console. After a moment she felt his hand on her hip, then he ran his other hand gently up her arm and turned to nuzzle her neck. She enjoyed feeling his breath on her skin again. Back while Starfleet was still fighting the Dominion all of the cadets had been pulled out of the academy to help defend Earth. The two of them had shared a few stolen moments together, but were separated during the last weeks of the war.

Kee closed her eyes as his lips brushed against her neck. His hands slipped under her clothes and caressed her skin, her body responding to his touch. She reached her arm back to grasp the back of his neck to pull his body close against hers.

“We’re supposed to be working.” She reminded him.

“I think we’ve earned a little break. Besides, I can’t concentrate with you around.”

Kee turned around in his arms, and kissed deeply as he pressed her against the console. 

\- - -

Kee stepped cautiously out of the access hatch into an empty corridor. She’d traveled this rout back to the barracks so many times she had to be careful not to get too comfortable. If she were caught here without being escorted by a guard, the whole rebellion could be put at risk. With that exact thought on her mind she heard footsteps. She dashed into a storage room she’d used several times for cover and waited. Based on the weight and frequency of the footsteps, she guessed it was a Cardassian.

When he had passed and she could no longer hear his footsteps, she crept back into the corridor then headed in the direction of the barracks. But the Cardassian soldier stepped out of the shadows to block her path, pointing a phaser at her chest.

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

“I…” She stammered, trying to come up with an excuse for her being here, but she couldn’t.

He grabbed her by the arm and slammed her against the wall and looked at her with a sickening smirk. Pressing the tip of his phaser under her jaw, he used his other hand to turn her face to the side and leaned close to her ear. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a Bajoran.” He said, pressing his body against hers.

Kee fought panic, she might be able to take him down, but a missing soldier would trigger a lockdown and a search that might uncover their ship.

His free hand found its way into her clothes and she could feel his face against hers. “I’ll give you a choice.” He said. “Either you cooperate or I throw you into a holding cell and interrogate you until you tell us what you’re doing here and who else is involved.”

There was no choice. She couldn’t risk revealing the rebellion or their plans. She was willing to die for them, she had to be willing to make this sacrifice.

He took her silence as agreement and roughly shoved her into the storage room she had hidden in and pushed her onto the floor while unfastening his uniform. 

Suddenly someone was calling her name. “Lieutenant Norv!” Strange, nobody had called her that since… wait…

 _“Lieutenant Norv!”_ Commander Hawkins was holding her by the shoulders, calling her name.

Kee gasped as she was pushed back into reality. The blackness faded and she was again in the Bajoran lightship with Hawkins and Anderson. The Dominion had been beaten, the Emissary was with the profits and all was as it was supposed to be.

 _“Endeavor, emergency beam-out!”_ Hawkins called into the open comm. In a fraction of a second reality faded away again, this time into the light of a transporter beam.

* * *

Captain Russel walked quickly into sickbay. The three away team members were inside still in their environmental suits with their helmets and gloves off. She stopped in front of Commander Hawkins for a report.

“We found that the chroniton field is coming from what look like shattered pieces of a Bajoran orb, only it’s black.” He said.

“Black?”

“Yes. I don’t know much about them, but none of this seems right. Norv had picked up one of the pieces and she froze in place for at least thirty seconds. I don’t think she was even breathing. She suddenly snapped out of it and that’s when I called for transport.”

“Thank you.” She said to him and moved to the bio bed where Norv was sitting, being examined by Doctor Evans. The Bajoran security officer looked shaken but unharmed. She was absentmindedly running her thumb across her left fingertips. A nervous habit she’d noticed some time ago.

“Based on readings taken of others who have encountered Bajoran orbs, I’d say Lieutenant Norv has had what they call an orb experience.” The doctor told her.

“So she’s alright?”

“There is nothing medically wrong with her. Just slightly elevated levels of Psilosynine, which is normal after an orb experience.”

Doctor Evans stepped away and Russel turned to Norv without saying anything, allowing her to gather her thoughts before reporting.

Norv swallowed hard and shook her head, “I don’t know what to tell you, Captain. It’s like the black is not just a color, this is a deep, almost physical blackness.” A shrug was barely perceptible in her EV suit and she sighed. “I’m not making much sense.”

“You’re doing fine.” Russel knew how seriously Norv took her religion, something like this was bound to shake her up. If it wasn’t an orb sent by the entities that live in the wormhole, it had to be similar beings. And what exactly could that mean? Could they be dealing with the Bajoran equivalent of the devil? “What can you tell me about what you saw?”

“Not much. It’s like trying to remember a dream, it slipped away so fast. As soon as I start to picture it in my mind, it’s just gone. All I can remember was that everything was very, very wrong.”

“Lieutenant Brisk is going to transport the books onboard and begin scanning them into the computer. As soon as you feel up to it, I want you to see what you can learn from them about this black orb. Also, see if you can consult with one of your religious leaders on Bajor, maybe they know something the general population doesn’t.”

“Yes sir.” She slid down off of the bio bed, “I’m anxious to begin, actually.”

* * *

Vedic Oheg answered the comm more quickly than Kee had expected. It had been so many years since she’d seen him, but he hadn’t changed at all. The same gentle, lined face that she remembered, only his hair seemed different, thinner. She suddenly felt like a small child again, sitting at his feet, waiting to learn more about the Prophets. “Keedra! It’s good to see you!” He greeted her with a friendly smile that didn’t quite make it to his eyes.

“Vedic! I didn’t expect to get through to you so quickly.”

“I was expecting your call.” He said, that trace of seriousness in his eyes creeping across the rest of his face.

“You were?”

“You’ve found something, haven’t you?”

The sense of dread she’d been feeling deepened. “Yes, a black orb. How did you know?”

“I had a vision yesterday of you and this black orb. I wasn’t sure what it meant, if it was literal or symbolic, so I began searching the ancient archives for mention of such a thing.”

“Did you find anything?” She asked hopefully.

“Not yet. But I’ll keep searching, there are many of the oldest books that haven’t yet been digitized and will have to be manually searched. But one thing I’m certain of, Keedra, is that you have been chosen to destroy it.”

“Chosen? Me?” The revelation hit her almost physically, _chosen_ , by Them Themselves. He had to be mistaken, she wasn’t anybody, just some former terrorist. The Prophets couldn’t possibly choose someone with a past like hers.

“This task was always meant for you.” He insisted. “When you were a child I _knew_ that the Prophets had set you aside for something, but I didn’t know then what it was. That’s why I made sure you learned to read the ancient language. Keedra the Prophets have been with you your entire life.”

Was this why she’d survived all those times when others didn’t? Why she’d done the impossible again and again and lived? Why she felt compelled to leave home?

He continued, “If it hadn’t been for the vandalism incident when you were eleven, I would have brought you into the clergy.” He shook his head. “But there are forces in this world that act contrary to the will of the Prophets and they set your life in a different direction. But the will of the Prophets is still to be fulfilled!” He said the last part with joy that she didn’t feel.

“How am I supposed to destroy it?”

He became serious again, “I don’t know, but you must destroy it, that I’m certain of. In my vision, I saw that it is absolutely evil.”

“It’s already shattered.”

“The orb is simply the corporeal manifestation of the conduit that exists between us and the Prophets. It doesn’t matter if it’s shattered into many pieces, it still carries out its purpose. You must utterly destroy it.”

“How?”

He leaned back in his chair, “I don’t know yet. But I’ll keep searching for anything that will help you.”

“Thank you. I’ll learn what I can from here.”

“Be careful. Do not let it cause your faith to waver.” He warned. “Walk with the Prophets, child.”

When the screen winked off she realized that her hands were shaking. She believed that the Prophets would not ask her to attempt a task that she would be unable to complete, but still the weight of it felt almost too heavy to bear. Her faith was _already_ wavering, not in Them, but in herself.

Regardless of whether the orb was evil or not, whether it should be destroyed or not, there was still the question of where it came from, how it came to be shattered and adrift on a lightship, and why even a Vedic had never heard of it. She put thoughts of Vedic Oheg’s premonitions aside, she was a Starfleet officer and would do this as a Starfleet officer. If the Prophets had indeed maneuvered her life into what it had become, they must intend for her to behave as such.

Kee stood up from the console in her quarters to head to the science lab where the work was to be done on the old books.

* * *

Maggie walked carefully toward the science lab, careful not to spill the contents of the mug in her hand. She’d stopped by the mess hall where the captain had had a real coffee maker installed. The doors opened for her and she found Kee leaned over a desk with digitized images of the disintegrating books displayed on at least seven different padds in front of her. It looked like she’d highlighted portions of some of them and cross-referenced them with others.

“I thought you could use a cup of real coffee. It’s the captain’s favorite roast.” Maggie set the rich-smelling drink next to Kee and picked up the empty cup that she had finished some time ago.

“Thank you.” She said as she picked it up and breathed in the steam.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” She said, but Maggie didn’t believe that for a minute.

“Kee…” She said sternly.

She sighed, “It was… unsettling. But I’ll manage. Really.”

Maggie sat down in the chair next to Kee and waited.

“Honestly, I’m more bothered by what Vedic Oheg said than anything else. I mean, _me_ , somehow singled out.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

She shook her head, “So much. The life I’ve lead-”

“-is irrelevant. The greatest contributions are often made by flawed people. And I know you. You will do the right thing no matter the cost. Just like you always have.”

“That may be my intent, but at some point, I’ll reach my limit. The point at which I simply _can’t_ fight anymore.”

Maggie reached for her friend’s hand, “If your Prophets intend for you to do this, and they know the future, then there’s no question.”

Kee leaned back in the chair, rolling her eyes, “Well, if you’re going to use logic…”

“I’m sorry, are we not supposed to use logic right now?”

Kee finally smiled, “Not while my head is swimming in all of these prophecies. It’s like trying to make sense of a dream.”

Maggie’s eyes wondered over to the padds, “You can really read all of that?”

She shrugged, “Most of it. Although, I make sure to have a translation matrix handy.” She picked up the translation pad to indicate it.

“Any luck?”

“There’s a lot of information here, and whatever it all means, it’s very intriguing. But I’m nowhere near making any sense of it yet. And the captain wants a report in less than an hour.”

“Well, good luck on that, hopefully the coffee will help!” She said, turning to leave.

“Thank you.” She called after her friend already beginning to read, compare and puzzle over it all.

* * *

“The chroniton field emanating from the fragments has phaseshifted three times in the last few hours and intensified by a factor of ten.” Lieutenant Brisk, stood at the wall display screen in the conference room, indicating charts with different wave forms to illustrate his point.

“Does it pose any threat to us or the nearby star systems?” Russel asked.

“Not at this point, no. But it’s too early to tell if the readings will continue to climb or if this is only cyclical.” He hesitated, “Captain, I’d like to bring it onboard to study it more closely. In a containment unit, of course.”

“Do you think there’s danger that it would affect others in the same way it did Lieutenant Norv?”

“I thought about that, and the boxes the orbs are kept in seem to have the ability to shield people from their power until they’re opened. I believe if we place our containment unit inside the orb box it will be sufficient.”

“Norv, thoughts?”

“The arks that house the orbs are made of a unique material that is believed to act as a shield, like he said. I think it would work.” She didn’t mention to them that the thought of bringing it on board only deepened the dread she’d felt since she first saw the black orb.

“And your report, Lieutenant?” Russel said to her.

Norv stood up and stepped around the conference table to the wall screen. “First off, the books predate the lightship by almost two-thousand years, these were contemporaries of texts that are considered cannon today. I’ve read through less than a quarter of them so far. Some of them are near duplicates of the canonical books except the endings of the prophecies are different, and incorrect. Or at least compared to their counterpart prophecies that are accepted to have been fulfilled.”

“What do you think that means?” Hawking asked.

“I don’t know yet. Only one of them so far has had any reference to a black orb and it includes something… interesting.” She called up an image on the screen that prompted murmurs of interest through the room. It was an old charcoal drawing she’d found in one of the books of the interior of a lightship, an empty orb ark with shattered fragments covering the floor and, most shocking, a figure in a modern Starfleet environmental suit holding one of the fragments up to the light. “Keep in mind that this was drawn around 500 bc according to Earth’s calendar.”

“What you’re saying is that all of this, the ship, the orb, us being here was all part of some prophecy more than twenty-five-hundred years ago?” Hawking asked in disbelief.

“Yes.” She said with as much confidence as she could manage.

“What about known Bajoran history? If these texts existed two-thousand years before this ship was launched, there must be a record somewhere.” Russel asked.

“I have a contact back at the Vedic assembly who’s been looking into that since yesterday morning.”

Hawking’s brow furrowed, “But we only found the ship last night.”

“That’s right.” She said, hoping to avoid too much discussion of the supernatural, though considering the situation that was most likely impossible. “We’re dealing with entities who exist outside of time, it doesn’t always make sense, sir.”

“That’s for sure.” He agreed, seemingly resigned.

The captain sat up straight in her chair, causing everyone to give her their complete attention. “Norv, keep doing what you’re doing and report back as soon as you or your contact find anything useful. Brisk, go ahead and bring the orb on board using your best discretion in regards to the safety of the crew. After that’s done, I’d like to bring the lightship into one of the shuttle bays. At the very least, I’m sure the Bajoran people would be interested in it as a historical artifact. Hawking, see to-”

“Bridge to Russel.” Rice’s voice interrupted, “We’re picking up a ship on long range sensors on an intercept course.”

“On my way.” She said, on her way out the door with the three officers following. “Can you identify?” She said as she took her seat.

Kee moved toward the aft tactical station and called up the sensor readings. The warp signature followed by a visual definitively identified it as Bajoran.

Rice spoke up before she could, “It’s a Bajoran long-range scout ship.”

“A Bajoran ship shows up less than a day after we find an ancient lightship and a shattered orb. What are the odds?” Russel asked her first officer sarcastically.

Hawkins turned around to look up at Kee from his seat next to the captain, “Just like your Vedic friend new about it?’

“Maybe they’ll have some of the answers we’re looking for. Hail them.” Russel said.

After a beat, Rice said, “Chanel open.”

“This is Captain Russel of the Federation Starship Endeavor.”

The man’s face that appeared on the view screen immediately set her on edge. The clothes visible on his shoulders identified him as a vedic, but an ornate earring hung from the wrong side of his face. He was no follower of the Prophets.

_“Captain Russel, I’m Vedic Adra. Our vessel is the Dahtek. I’m surprised to come across a Starfleet ship this far from normal transit routes.”_

“I could say the same thing about you. We’re a long way from Bajor.” She said in a genuinely friendly voice. “Might you be looking for the derelict lightship we’ve found?”

_“As a matter of fact, we are. Through a great deal of research, we’ve finally located it and have come to bring it home. Since it is Bajoran property, I’m sure you’ll have no objections to giving it and all of the contents to us so we can return it to Bajor right away.”_

“Captain.” Kee said urgently but soft enough that the computer wouldn’t transmit it.

Russel didn’t miss a beat, “Excuse me one moment, Vedic.” Then she nodded to Campos.

“Muted.” He confirmed.

“Lieutenant?”

“He’s not a vedic. He’s wearing his earring on the left side, which means he’s a follower of the pah-wraiths. If we could see more of his body, I’d bet he has a red band on his right arm. If this orb is connected to the pah-wraiths in any way, we cannot turn it over to them.”

Russel didn’t look unconvinced, but said, “He has more of a claim to it than Starfleet. It would be hard to explain to Command why we refused to hand it over.” She pursed her lips and turned back to Campos.

“Unmute.” He said.

“Vedic, we will be glad to return the books we recovered from the lightship and you’re welcome to retrieve the lightship itself.”

 _“And the other artifact?”_ An edge began to creep into his voice.

“We are conducting an investigation to ensure the artifact doesn’t pose a health and safety risk.”

_“We have a great deal more experience with these artifacts than you do. We will ensure it is safely handled.”_

“I understand that, but since we’ve already-”

_“The Cardassians also took the orbs from us to ‘study’ them. Would Starfleet do the same? I demand you turn it over immediately!”_

“Vedic, we have no intention of keeping any Bajoran property. We simply need to-”

The not-vedic angrily punched a command on his panel and the screen went blank. As he did so, he moved just enough that a small strip of red was visible on his right arm.

Russel turned to her with a wry smile, “I suggest you find out as much as you can about that orb.”

* * *

Kee stood in front of the desk in the captain’s ready room to give her an updated report. She handed her a padd with a split-screen with sections of two prophecies highlighted: one from a canonical Bajoran text that Oheg had sent her and one from one of the apocryphal books from the lightship. 

“This text,” she indicated the canonical one, “is from an obscure book that many people ignore because it’s full of some very confusing imagery. It talks about a war between two empires separated by a great distance it calls the _Irni_. Which is the root of the modern word for the z-axes. It goes on to describe _jeishani_ , or ‘monsters’ that align themselves with one of these empires. The ‘messengers of the light’ win the war after which the ‘timeless one’ returns home.”

“That sounds a lot like the war with the dominion.” Russel said, leaning forward clearly intrigued.

“It does. However, it also closely resembles a war that happened 1500 years ago between the Navot, who live in a valley and the Rahn, who lived in the mountains and used _jeisha_ in their warfare. The _jeisha_ were large reptiles that are now extinct and where we get the term _jeishani_.”

Russel leaned back in her chair with exasperation.

“You can see how difficult interpreting prophecy can be. Even after the fact.” She reached over to indicate the apocryphal text, “This is from one of the books we recovered from the lightship, it tells a similar story, only the other side wins.” She allowed it to sink in. “They both go on to describe a sailing ship, lost at sea. The ship is swallowed up by a sea of ink, killing everyone onboard except for ‘the one exiled’, which could indicate what we know of as a pah-wraith.” She paused and Russel began to draw parallels to their current situation. “The ‘followers of the true prophets’, which is what the pah-wraith cult call themselves, then come to rescue the Exile and ‘set things as they should be.’”

“Does it say how the story ends? What is what things ‘should be?’”

Kee suddenly couldn’t answer, the captain’s voice sounded distant, like she were being pulled away. She could feel it tugging on her pagh. When inky black tendrils began to enter her vision, she tried to take a step back but she was paralyzed, she couldn’t move. Within moments the blackness had surrounded her and wrapped itself around her like a heavy blanket…

“Fire three torpedo spread.” Jean-Luc called to her over the noise of battle.

“We only have three torpedoes.” Kee informed him.

“I’m aware of that. Fire.”

Their stolen Jem’Hadar ship, which they had named Resurgence, shook as the Dominion ships pounded them with their weapons. Reluctantly Kee programmed in the sequence that would exhaust their supply of precious torpedoes. “Firing.” She said as she pressed the launch key.

Her sensor display showed the torpedoes sailing toward their target. The other ship darted away to avoid them, but two of the three hit home, destroying it. The Resurgence shook again as the final Dominion ship continued its pursuit. Kee did her best to return fire but the phasers were having a difficult time keeping a targeting lock as a result of Loren’s evasive maneuvers. “Do you think you could fly a little more erratically, babe?”

“Sure!” He replied, and the ship lurched to the side.

Kee grumbled as she continued to fight with the targeting scanners. Of course, his flight pattern was the only thing keeping them alive right now. The phasers were down to half power and even when she could land a hit, they were ineffective against a fully functional Jem’Hadar ship.

“I think I can give you one more phaser blast at full power, but that’s it.” B’Elanna’s voice broke over the open comm.

“Do it.” Jean-Luc told her, then turned to Kee, “Make it count.”

Kee nodded her understanding. If she missed... An indicator on her panel told her that the modifications were ready. She waited as Loren positioned the ship to give her the best chance of landing the shot. She exhaled as though she were firing a phaser rifle and pressed the firing key.

The whine of a higher-than-maximum phaser blast filled the bridge, then the phasers discharged toward the enemy ship, punching through their shields and into their hull, right on target. Kee breathed with relief that was short-lived, because the battered Dominion ship suddenly accelerated toward them. Her panel lit up with telemetry readings as Loren veered away to avoid the suicide run. The two ships collided sidelong, almost knocking Kee over her console.

As she regained her footing she saw that the other ship’s warp core was going to breach, so she transferred all remaining power to the aft shields seconds ahead of the explosion. The shockwave washed over their ship with a violent shudder.

“Impulse engines are dead, I only have maneuvering thrusters.” Loren reported. Even worse, sensors showed that the glancing blow had pushed them down into the nearby plantoid’s atmosphere, they were falling out of control.

“B’Elanna, how soon can you get the engines back online?” Jean-Luc asked.

“Not soon enough!” She said, her voice strained.

“Transfer all available power to the inertial dampers.” Jean-Luc tapped his console to transmit through the entire ship, “All hands, brace for impact.”

Loren’s forehead was creased in concentration as he used the thrusters to try to level out their descent. For once she was thankful that Jem’Hadar ships were built without viewscreens so she couldn’t see the ground coming toward them, only a number quickly ticking down the distance. Just before it reached zero, Kee ducked behind her console.

The impact was harder than she could have imagined. Like hitting the side of a mountain at warp speed. When the inertial dampers failed she was thrown against her console, hitting her shoulder hard. She heard other people and pieces of machinery tossed across the bridge. Once everything stopped there was a moment of eerie silence. Pain tore through her shoulder but as she flexed the joint nothing seemed broken. She stood to find others picking themselves up.

From where she stood she could see Jean-Luc on the floor of his console, blood pouring from a head wound. She and another crewmember rushed to his side.

“I’m alright,” He said, already pulling a piece of cloth from somewhere in his clothes and pressing it to his head, “Check on Loren.”

Kee looked up to find that Loren hadn’t stood up. She dashed toward his console to find him on the floor, pinned under a piece of bulkhead.

“Give me a hand with this?” He said to her.

She bent down to lift the debris off of him, finding that it was lighter than she expected. She was surprised that he hadn’t been able to move it himself. He’d laid his head back down on the floor and she knelt beside him.

“Is there something else still there?” He asked, concern creeping onto his face.

She looked again and his legs were completely free. “No.” A feeling of dread formed in the pit of her stomach.

He looked desperately at her, “I can’t move.”

She fought panic as he tried to sit up, but she held him down. “Don’t move. Beverly is probably already on her way.” Just as she said it, she heard the turbolift doors being forced open. It was Beverly and her nurse, Ted, carrying a med kit they had appropriated from an abandoned Starfleet base a month ago.

Beverly stopped to tend to Jean-Luc first but he waived off her concern and sent her to check on Loren. She scanned him, concentrating first on his head, then down his body, focusing on his abdomen. “His spine is severed at L4.” She told Ted, she bit her lower lip as she lowered the tricorder and spoke to Loren. “There’s nothing I can do, even with a fully equipped sickbay, the chances of repairing the damage would be low. I’m so sorry.” She went on to scan the rest of his body and began tending to his more minor injuries.

Kee could only watch helplessly as the man she loved attempted to cope with the devastating news that he was paralyzed and would never walk again. She recalled watching him with his gymnastics team back at the Academy and she fought to keep her expression neutral against the sorrow. She squeezed his hand in a feeble attempt to provide comfort, knowing nothing she could do would help him.

\- - -

“ _baQa’_ ” Kee exclaimed when her console’s power relay sparked at her. She yanked her hand out of the open access panel.

B’Elanna craned her neck around from where she was working on the other side of the bridge. “Problems?”

“This power relay just arced at me!” She said, inspecting her hand. They’d been working on repairing the Resurgence for over a month. Between hull breaches, power failures and the entire propulsion system, the ship had been a complete wreck. In another place and another time it would have been left for salvage, but here and now they didn’t have such luxuries.

“Did you forget to depolarize it before poking at it?”

She had in fact forgotten to depolarize the relay and made a frustrated sound. “I hate this stuff.” She muttered.

“What stuff? Jem’Hadar technology? Starfleet technology was essentially the same.”

“Engineering stuff!” She began working on the relay again.

Braws, who was installing a seat for Loren at the conn, snickered. Kee’s lack of engineering aptitude had become abundantly apparent during their stay on this planetoid.

Kee glared at him, but he pretended to be engrossed in his work. Once she thought she had repaired the damage to the relay she reactivated it. The console lit up and began its startup sequence only to spark again and shut down. “ _Hu’tegh!_ ” She stood up and backed away. “This _jay’_ piece of junk!” She resisted the urge to kick it and raised her arms in exasperation instead, prompting a smirk to pass between B’Elanna and Braws. “I need to go somewhere else for a few minutes.”

“Hey, if you’re going…” Braws called out and tossed her a padd, “take this to Loren, it’s the repair report on the conn.”

“Sure.” With that she walked out of the bridge.

\- - -

Kee pressed the control pad on the door to the quarters she shared with Loren. When the door opened she saw that he hadn’t moved since she left him this morning. He was laying on his bunk, staring at the ceiling, the wheelchair Braws had made him still folded and leaning against the wall untouched. She sighed inwardly, it was understandable that he was depressed, but no matter what anyone tried to do, he just rejected it. She’d tried staying positive and supporting his healing process in whatever form it took, but she longed to do more for him.

She smiled and held out the padd, “Here’s the conn report.”

“Thanks.” He said flatly, thumbing through the data on the padd.

“Braws is almost finished modifying the console for you.” She sat down on the edge of his bunk.

He snorted unhappily, “You mean more accommodations for the cripple?”

She suppressed her impulsive response. He’d been lashing out like that lately, she tried not to take it personally. “He’s adjusting it right now to have perfect balance. He’s really proud of it.”

He handed the padd back to her and rested his arm across his face, covering his eyes. “Might as well rip it out. All I am is a liability on the bridge.”

She felt her frustration ready to break loose, “You are our pilot. We need you. We never would have made it this far without you.” She stood up and paced to the other side of the small room. “We evaded Dominion patrols at Nehru, Caldik and Kobliad thanks to your piloting skills. You managed to land on this planet…”

“Crash landed.” He corrected.

“Fine, ‘crash landed’ on this planet and every one of us survived! We need you.” She walked closer to him and softened her voice. “I need you. I love you.”

“What’s left of me.” He said bitterly.

She felt a tear escape and tamped the feelings back down. “I’ll take any part of you I can get.” She said. When he didn’t respond, she stepped back, “I should get back to the bridge.” Then turned and left. When the door had closed behind her, she leaned against the wall and allowed herself a moment of sorrow before composing herself again and heading back toward the bridge.

\- - -

Two more weeks passed and Kee was deep into the tedious process of testing the software on the tactical console. Most of the power failures had been addressed, several crewmembers were meticulously scanning the hull for micro fractures and B’Elanna seemed anxious to get up into space to begin a test run of the impulse engines and warp core. One essential piece was still missing, though. She glanced over at the conn that had stood empty ever since repairs on it were complete.

She looked up to see Braws enter the bridge. His blue face looked grave as he walked toward her. “Kee, I…” He began, but hesitated. Whatever it was, it was bad news. “I finished repairing the subspace antenna and picked up a repeating message on one of the lower subspace bands.” He stopped again. “It’s Bajor. Evidently they mounted a rebellion. They’re gone, Kee, the Dominion wiped out everyone on the planet and all of the off-world colonies.”

It took a moment for the news to sink in. Her heart tightened and she felt like she was about to be crushed under some massive weight. Everything they’d fought for, gone. Every sacrifice they’d made was for nothing. Everyone who’d died for their freedom. Traie… She suddenly couldn’t breathe and dropped to her knees. She bent over with her face in her hands and sobbed as she never had before. A lifetime of pain and grief poured out freely.

She felt Braws’ hand on her shoulder, “I’m so sorry.” But she barely heard him. Her entire existence had shrunk down to a tiny, black space around her.

In the fraction of a moment between realities, there was a flash of recognition. Someone or something was there.

Fingers snapped in slow motion in front of her face and she finally blinked. Russel’s voice sounded far away, “Lieutenant!”

She was suddenly aware of reality again. Russel was standing next to her with her hand on her shoulders, but she had barely heard her. The emotions from the last moments in that other world felt like they would overwhelm her and she backed away as though the physical distance would separate her from that grief.

She knew it wasn’t real, but she badly wanted to contact somebody back home to prove to herself that they were still there. She covered her mouth with her hands to find that they were shaking and she felt sick to her stomach.

“Russel to sickbay, medical emergency in my ready room.” She called into the comm as she guided her to a chair where she could sit down. “Did it happen again? What did you see?”

“There’s something there. An entity. Malevolent.” She said inarticulately. She couldn’t say whether it was a pah-wraith, she’d never encountered one. But she was certain, it was powerful and it was evil.

Barely a minute later Doctor Evans rushed in and over to Kee. While he scanned her, Russel explained, “I think she was linked with the artifact like Hawkins described before. She just froze in place. She wasn’t breathing.”

“I’m picking up elevated levels of Psilosynine and neuropeptides.”

“How is that possible, she’s nowhere near it.” Russel said.

Kee finally spoke up, “We call it an orb shadow. With the Prophets, once a person has had an orb experience, it’s possible for them to have another vision without direct contact with an orb. If the entity we’re dealing with here is similar, the same thing could have happened.”

Russel said in a softer tone, “Do you remember more of it this time?”

Kee nodded, “Yes. The Dominion had won. Just like in the apocryphal book. Starfleet was wiped out, the entire Federation was enslaved, and Bajor…” Her throat tightened and she couldn’t finish the sentence.

Russel nodded her understanding, “You said something about an entity…”

“Yes, I’m certain now that there’s something there. Some consciousness.” She tried to grasp at the fragments in her mind. “I’m sorry, I can’t be more specific. All I can tell you is that we have to find out what it wants to do and stop it.”

“Adra has contacted me three more times demanding the orb. I’d guess whatever it is is going to happen soon.” No sooner had she said so than the ship shook violently from weapons fire. Russel instinctively strode out toward the bridge. “Report.” She called as she took her place.

“The Dahtek is firing on us.” Rice said. “Shields are down to sixty-two percent.”

“Sixty-two percent!?”

“Yes, it seems that someone has augmented that ship with neutron-based particle weapons.” Hawkins informed her.

Kee took a position at the aft tactical station just as the ship rocked again. The computer reported the shields were now down to fifty-three percent.

“They appear to be firing with the intent to take down our shields, not destroy us.” Campos said.

“Makes sense, they want that orb.” Russel said and tapped a key on the console next to her chair, “Brisk, set up an independent force field around that orb. If the shields go down, I don’t want them to be able to transport it out.”

_“Acknowledged.”_

Another hit and they were down to forty-seven.

“Return fire. Try to disable that weapon.” Russel said.

Kee worked the console to filter the relevant data to Rice’s station. Target locked. Phasers discharged. The Dahtek’s shields began to weaken, but they continued their attack.

“Shields down to thirty-one percent.” Rice reported a split second after Kee’s console informed her. A message appeared from him instructing her to take over firing at the other ship.

While she did so, only weakening their shields a little at a time, she heard him report to the captain, “I’m modulating the shield frequency and geometry, but no effect.”

The Dahtek’s weapons surged again and the energy pounded into the Endeavor’s shields. “Twelve percent.” Kee reported. “One more hit.” She fired almost continuously at the Dahtek, but their weapons must not have been the only thing enhanced, she couldn’t break through to disable that weapon.

A final blast from the enemy and their shields were down. Russel turned around to Rice, “Get those shields back up. Brisk! Is your forcefield holding?”

 _“It is.”_ Brisk reported over the comm.

“The Dahtek is transmitting some kind of energy beam, directed toward engineering.” Campos said.

_“Bridge, I don’t know what they’re doing, but that energy beam is opening up a chroniton rift, right around that orb.”_

“Can you compensate?”

_“Working on it.”_

“Rice, Campos, is there anything you can do to block that beam?”

Rice worked at his console for agonizing seconds, but shook his head. “Not without shields.”

Campos only shook his head. “I’ve got nothing.”

_“Nothing we try is working. It’s almost as though the rift is not even originating in our spacetime.”_

“Explain.”

_“I can’t. It’s like it’s not here but it is. And it looks like it’s trying to pull the orb into wherever the rift is originating from.”_

“Captain.” Kee said. “Those visions and the alternate prophecy… what if the rift is coming from that alternate timeline, it’s what the Exile wants to change. If it can use that rift to travel back and set those events in motion, our timeline could be replaced with that one.”

“I think that’s a viable theory. What do you propose?”

“I need to go back. The vision is incomplete, I need to see what else is there. See if the rift is there too and somehow close it.”

“Are you sure? It could be dangerous to go back in with that rift opening up.”

“Unless you have another option…”

Russel nodded, “Do it.”

Kee turned and quickly exited the bridge.

* * *

Brisk met Kee at the door of engineering. “We tried bombarding the orb with chroniton radiation, like they used a few years ago when they had an incident on Deep Space Nine, but it had no effect. If the rift is there on the other side, you need to try it from that end. Ideally that should disrupt the rift and a high enough dose will kill the entity.”

“Understood. Chroniton radiation.” She repeated, slowing her pace as she approached the orb.

“Lowering the forcefield.” Brisk said from somewhere to the side.

Kee swallowed hard and took a long, slow breath to try to calm her pounding heart before reaching for the doors of the orb box. They clicked open as she pulled on the bottom edge to reveal the black shards that had once been an orb. An evil one. Black tendrils reached for her and enveloped her.

The Resurgence had been back out in space for almost a year and had delivered several significant strikes to the Dominion. However, the Dominion had begun retaliating against the inhabitants of former Federation worlds. Andor suffered a major blow when a third of their population had been executed. Much of Earth’s European continent had been destroyed by an orbital bombardment. And there were only a handful of survivors after Betazed was attacked.

The crew of the Resurgence had decided to lay low for a while to decide how to proceed without putting more innocent lives in danger. They’d crossed part of what used to be Klingon territory and were currently passing through the Canopus system. Kee looked up at the sound of the turbolift doors and saw Loren wheel onto the bridge. Instead of heading toward the conn, he came over to her station.

“Kee, check this out.” With a smile he tipped his chair backward and balanced on only the rear wheels then spun around several times and landed back down with a flourish of his arms.

Kee laughed. It was good to have him back to normal. Once he’d reluctantly returned to his station, and especially once they’d gotten back out into space he’d begun smiling again. Only occasionally at first, but now he was back to laughing and joking around like before, doing stunts like this to impress her. He’d just pulled himself onto his seat at the conn when something triggered their proximity sensors.

“Jean-Luc, sensors are detecting an object less than half a lightyear away. It’s tiny, no more than twenty meters across.” Kee said.

Jean-Luc reluctantly put on the headset and activated it. He used it rarely, mostly relying on sensor readings because of the intense headaches it caused. “I’ve never seen a ship like this.”

Kee pulled up a diagram of the unidentified ship and she felt her mouth gape open. The hull of the little ship reminded her of a turtle but with long, skinny struts sticking out of it like insect legs. Tatters of a gold mesh hung off of the broken struts, the little bits that were still intact waivered in the solar eddies like wind blowing on silk. As the ship turned lazily in space a huge gaping hull breach became visible. “That’s a Bajoran lightship.” She announced. A pang of sadness struck her heart. Here was something from her home world from a time when their future was wide open, a world that no longer existed. She pushed the thought aside for now.

“All the way out here?” Jean-Luc said.

Kee checked her sensors again, “Readings suggest that it’s quite old. It could have been drifting in space for as much as seven hundred years. If the solar sales were intact during a significant amount of that time, it’s possible for it to have drifted this far.”

Jean-Luc nodded, his eyes sparkling at the prospect of investigating an intriguing mystery after so many years of war. He seemed to ponder his options for a few moments. The EV suits that had been onboard were not suitable for non-Jem’hadar, so they had salvaged the parts and discarded them before they’d even left Earth. “Kee, if the remains of the crew are still on the ship, are there any cultural objections to us bringing it aboard?”

“No.”

“Do you think it has sufficient structural integrity for us to use the tractor beam?”

She took another look at the readings and smiled, his excitement becoming contagious, “Yes, if we’re careful.”

“Make it so.”

\- - -

B’Elanna was already there when Kee followed Jean-Luc into the shuttle bay where the lightship rested. She was scanning the ship with a tricorder since the Resurgence’s internal sensors were virtually useless. “I’m not detecting any harmful substances.” She said.

Jean-Luc carefully climbed up the side of the craft and shined a light into the hole in the side, then gently stepped through.

Kee followed, placing her feet carefully to avoid destabilizing or disturbing anything. As she shined her light around the forward compartment, she found that it was empty. No bodies so far, at least. She followed Jean’Luc into the aft compartment and heard B’Elanna enter behind her. As the three beams of light panned back she saw stacks of books, some of them open, their pages crumbling apart. “Why didn’t they get blown out into space when the hull breached?”

“I’m reading hundreds of microfractures,” B’Elanna said, focusing on her tricorder. “It’s possible the air leaked out slowly before the major breach happened.”

Continuing her slow revolution of the rear of the ship, light glinted off of a shiny surface on the floor. “What is that?” Her light lit up hundreds of what looked like tiny, black jewels strewn across the floor. When she panned a little farther she had her answer. An orb box lay on its side, empty, next to the scattered shards of its contents.

“Is that an orb?” Jean’Luc asked.

Kee stared at the pieces, it didn’t seem possible. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of an orb being damaged, much less shattered.”

“And the color.” B’Elanna added.

Kee knelt down to pick up a piece. She held it up to the light from B’Elanna’s beacon. The blackness from the sliver was deep and rich and the fragmented surface sparkled.

B’Elanna moved the tricorder close to it and scanned it intently. “I’d like to take the pieces to engineering for analysis.”

He nodded, “Proceed.”

Kee set the piece back down and stood up, still staring at the shattered orb as B’Elanna prepared to beam it to engineering.

“Have you ever heard of a black orb before?” Jean’Luc asked her.

“No, never.”

“The beings who exist in the wormhole, your Prophets, do they have a counterpart? A devil?”

“Yes, the pah-wraiths.”

“Is it possible they could have created this orb?”

Kee’s head spun with that possibility, “The pah-wraiths are the same type of beings as the Prophets, presumably with the same capabilities. I’ve never heard of such a thing as them making an orb, but I suppose it’s possible.”

He turned to regard one of the open books, brushing his finger gently against the edge of the paper which crumbled apart at his touch. “I would love the chance to study these books, the answer could very well be right here, but I fear they’ll disintegrate if we disturb them.” He didn’t point out that any other possible historical information would have been lost in the destruction of Bajor last year.

He sighed heavily, “We’re left with only what our scanners can tell us.” He turned to B’Elanna who was preparing to leave, “Let me know as soon as you have any new information.” Then to Kee he said, “Return to your station for now, but let me know if you remember anything at all.” With that he turned back to a visual inspection of the ship.

\- - -

Kee followed Jean’Luc into engineering after B’Elanna’s urgent summons.

“Report.” He said.

“I’m picking up a chroniton rift opening up right around the fragments.”

“What’s causing it?”

“I don’t know, the fragments themselves are completely inert. It’s like the rift is coming from somewhere else, but at the same time it’s _right here_.”

Something brushed at the edges of Kee’s consciousness. She grasped at it, but like a dream, it was gone in an instant. What was it? Something was familiar. The conversation in front of her grew distant as she tried to reclaim the memory, or was it a memory? She couldn’t tell. Something about this was not right. All of it was not right. Not the way things were supposed to turn out.

“…it’s like something’s pushing the rift into existence.” B’Elanna was saying.

“The rift.” Kee repeated. “We need to close the rift.”

“Do you know something about this?” Jean’Luc asked.

Kee shook her head. “No. Yes… I’m not sure. We need to use chroniton radiation to close the rift and destroy the entity.”

“‘Entity’? Kee, there’s nothing there.” B’Elanna argued.

“Chroniton radiation.” She insisted, “Do we have the ability to do that?”

She thought for a moment, “A Jem’hadar ship isn’t exactly equipped like a Federation science vessel, but I can make some modifications.”

Jean’Luc pondered the fragments for a moment, “Regardless of where the anomaly is coming from and whether there is an entity present, I don’t like the idea of a rift opening up on my ship. Do what you can to close it.”

“Yes, sir.” B’Elanna said and handed Kee the tricorder, “Could you keep an eye on that rift for me?”

\- - -

“Bridge, we’re ready to initiate the chroniton radiation.” B’Elanna said into the comm.

 _“Proceed at your discretion.”_ Came Jean’Luc’s voice.

“Alright. Kee, continue monitoring the rift, I’m beginning the procedure now.”

Kee watched the readings on the tricorder as the rift started to falter and weaken, but before it could close it began stabilizing. “It’s not working. The rift is growing again.”

B’Elanna checked her console, “It’s being sustained from somewhere, but I can’t pinpoint the source. I’m increasing the strength of the chroniton radiation.”

This time their beam was met with even more strength and the rift continued to grow. “No effect.”

“It’s like it’s being fed by someone somewhere.”

That hint of a memory passed through Kee’s mind again. “Another timeline?”

“Maybe.” She said, then turned back to her console. “I’m going to hit it again with everything we’ve got.”

Movement pulled Kee’s attention away from the tricorder. The orb fragments… black tendrils seeped out of them and reached for her. It seemed impossible, those fragments were dead. She found herself frozen in position, unable to move or look away.

“Maximum power, initiating now.” She vaguely heard B’Elanna say.

The tendrils suddenly tightened around her as though they were a physical thing squeezing her, pulling her in. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t scream. Blackness washed over her, then a pulse of blinding white light. The crush of the blackness was gone, replaced with a gentle touch. Then nothing.

* * *

Kee began to become aware of soft noises around her. She wasn’t in engineering. Where was she?

“Welcome back, Kee.” Maggie said from next to her.

She opened her eyes and a sharp pain lanced through her head. “Where have I been?” She could only whisper.

“You’ve been in a coma for six days.” Maggie said softly.

“Six days!” She tried to sit up but the pain in her head nearly blinded her. Maggie gently guided her back down onto the bio bed.

“Actually, for a while, we weren’t sure if you were going to come out of it. There was an intense chroniton radiation surge while you were connected with that orb, it caused massive synaptic failure. You were essentially brain dead for two days.”

“The orb! What happened? Did we close the rift?”

“The rift is closed. From the other end. Then the fragments of the orb disintegrated into some kind of inert dust.”

“What about the Dahtek?”

“The surge knocked out their weapons and propulsion. We’re _towing_ them back to Bajor now. As for you, Brisk thinks that surge of chroniton radiation sort-of back-flowed into you because you were still connected to the orb when it happened.” Maggie set the tricorder down on a nearby tray of neatly-placed medical instruments. “We’re still not sure why or how you recovered.”

“I know what happened. It was the Prophets.” She looked up at her friend, “I _felt_ it. They were there.”

Maggie didn’t look entirely convinced, “Well, maybe it was the Prophets that healed you, but we’ll still keep looking for a scientific explanation. In the meantime, as soon as you feel up to it, you’d better contact your family and tell them that you’re alright.”

“You _didn’t_ tell them!” A different kind of dread than she’d been feeling for the last few days filled her.

Maggie gave her a stern look, “Kee… you were in a _coma_ for six days! We had to tell your family. But don’t worry, your mother already chewed me out for it.”

Realization crept into her mind, “And we’re taking the Dahtek all the way to Bajor?”

“Yep, you’re going to have to go see them. _And_ you’ll be on mandatory medical leave for at least a few more days by the time we get there, so you’ll have plenty of time for a visit.” She was enjoying this way too much.

“I don’t suppose there’s a chance we might have some kind of engine trouble that would delay us.” She could only sigh, she’d have to contact them soon, but decided she’d rest a little longer first. She wanted some time to think through the experience before having to explain it to her mother.


	6. You need this, don’t you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year: 2379

Kee walked into the main shuttle bay wearing her white dress uniform and took up a position next to her captain and commander. They waited as a runabout was guided in by tractor beams. She was certain this particular pilot could have easily landed it manually within a centimeter of the demarcation line, but procedure must be followed, especially now. Rumor was, the passengers were a high-maintenance group. Captain Russel could afford no missteps, so procedure was to be followed to the letter.

The diplomats onboard were on their way to settle a dispute in the Delos system between the Ornarians and Brekkians. If she remembered her history correctly, the two groups had been locked in an inequitable trade situation and refused Starfleet’s help when they offered assistance on behalf of the exploited Ornarians. But by invoking the Prime Directive, they also lost the technological assistance they had sought. Within a few years, their entire fleet had broken down and without the means to continue trading, the two planets were plunged into complete economic collapse. As expected, fighting broke out not long after that, both between the two worlds and within as well. The desperate governments were forced to finally turn to the Federation for help after all.

The USS Hertzler was set in place by the tractor beam so gently that there was no sound. Kee peeked up at the tech working the controls who visibly let out a breath. As the door to the runabout opened, the three officers straightened up to face their guests.

Three well-dressed individuals stepped out into view, all of them wearing very stern expressions. Russel stepped forward. “Ambassadors Lojal, Taxco and Vadosia. I’m Captain Russel, welcome to Endeavor. May I present my first officer, Commander Hawkins and my chief of security’s second in command, Lieutenant Norvish.”

Vadosia, a Bolian, scoffed, “Your chief of security couldn’t trouble himself to be here to greet us?”

“Lieutenant-commander Rice is occupied with arrangements to ensure your safety.” Russel replied, “I assure you, Mr. Ambassador, Lieutenant Norvish is fully capable of handling any security requests you might have.”

A sense of dread washed over her as the three ambassadors turned to regard her. Kee kept her smile plastered on her face.

Taxco turned back toward the captain, “We had assumed security would not be an issue onboard a starship. Do you anticipate problems during our trip?” She said almost sarcastically.

“Of course not, Madam Ambassador, but we wouldn’t want to take any risks.” Russel’s smile looked similarly plastered.

Lojal spied Endeavor’s newest shuttle, “Is that the USS Gyges?”

“Yes, it is.” Russel said proudly.

“Equipped with passive sensor dispersive hull plating. Am I correct?”

“That’s right. Not to mention multispatial shielding, Tetraburnium structural reinforcement, pulse phase weapons… If you’re interested, I can have our chief engineer give you a look under the hood.”

The Vulcan raised a disapproving eyebrow at the Human idiom, but said, “That would be most agreeable.”

“Would you like us to show you to your quarters?” She gestured toward the door. Instead of replying, the trio simply began walking in the direction she had indicated. Russel gave Hawkins a weary look as they ushered the ambassadors out of the shuttle bay. She was sure to pawn them off on him as soon as possible.

Kee stayed behind, waiting for the pilot to emerge after wrapping up the runabout shutdown sequence. She wasn’t sure if she was looking forward to this, or dreading it. The shuttle bay tech hurried over to the open hatch with a padd in her hand before he could come out. The tech’s body language told her that he was just inside the door. A moment later the tech stepped aside and Loren emerged. He looked as hansom as ever, his face had matured a bit, but she supposed hers probably had too. He also looked exhausted. Probably from being cooped up for two weeks with those three.

Her heart pounded as he walked straight toward her. “Lieutenant.” He said stiffly.

“I’ll show you to your quarters, Lieutenant.” She said, unsure what else to say. What _could_ she say?

They walked the short distance to the turbolift in silence. The doors opened to a turbolift that already had a passenger in it. Ensign Park stepped to the side to give Kee and Loren room to enter. “Deck four.” Kee told the computer. The lift resumed and the three stood in awkward silence until it stopped at deck seven.

“Have a nice day, Lieutenants.” Park said as she exited.

The moment the doors closed he spoke up. “You look nice.”

“Thank you. So do you.” That was the problem. He looked _really_ nice. They waited in silence. His cologne filled the small space and she breathed it deeply. This was ridiculous, she was an SI agent. She could con people, seduce people, command a team into and out of a deadly situation. And yet he rendered her hopelessly paralyzed.

Finally, relief came when the doors opened at their destination and she led him the short distance down the corridor to his guest quarters. She pressed the keypad to enter and he followed. “Standard guest quarters. You should have everything you need. If not, just let us know.” She said. As she turned around to leave, she nearly bumped into him.

They stood in front of each other, frozen. She leaned forward a fraction of a centimeter and lifted her chin. As their lips touched, he slid his hands around her waist. She ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his head and pulled him even closer. Her heart pounded. She shouldn’t do this. There was a reason she’d ended it, but she found she couldn’t pull away.

Before she could stop herself, she began peeling off the layers of his uniform and kicked off her boots while pushing him forcefully toward the bedroom. He stripped away her uniform, then she pushed him down to sit on the bed and straddled his lap. His lips felt soft against hers. She enjoyed his taste in her mouth. His hands slid up her back then back down to her waist, pulling her close.

* * *

Kee sat on the edge of the bed, still working to catch her breath. How could she have let this happen? She’d broken up with him for a good reason. She was certain it was best, but now she’d messed up, big time. How could she tell him that she didn’t mean for this to happen? That she wasn’t willing to reopen their relationship. How could she break his heart yet again?

She heard him shift in the bed behind her. She had to do this before it went any further. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here.” She stood and began gathering her clothes.

“What do you mean ‘you’re sorry’?”

“I mean, I can’t get back together with you and I’m sorry if I led you on.” She said as she hastily pulled her uniform on.

He sat up as though he was going to say something, but she interrupted. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this right now. I have to go.”

“Kee! Wait!” He called after her as she hurried out of his quarters to change back into her regular uniform.

* * *

Loren had intended to take advantage of the last few hours get some much-needed rest. Those ambassadors lived up to their reputation for being unreasonably high maintenance. He’d spent the last two weeks catering to their every need aboard a tiny ship with no chance to escape, even for a few minutes. At one point, desperate for some time to himself, he’d decided to do some unnecessary maintenance on the navigation system just so they’d leave him alone for a few hours. But despite how much he needed it, he hadn’t been able to relax at all.

Kee’s behavior made no sense. Not just today, but three years ago when she’d broken it off with him without any explanation. She had always been unpredictable and hesitant to open up but never flighty or erratic. Once she’d made a decision about something, like being with him, she rarely changed her mind. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something she wasn’t telling him. And Maggie had long since confirmed that she wasn’t seeing someone else, meaning she had lied about that, which was even more out of character.

* * *

Kee walked slowly toward Loren’s quarters. She’d spent the rest of her duty shift in a fog, trying to convince herself to go back and talk to him, and then what to say. She wanted to tell him the truth, wanted him to understand that it wasn’t because she didn’t love him. On the contrary.

Even after reaching her destination, she stood in front of the door for a long time. Finally, she forced herself to press the door chime. She waited, but there was no response. She pressed it again, and still no response. Finally, she called, “Loren, I know you’re there.” She pondered using her security override when he finally responded.

“Come in.”

She stepped forward to trigger the door to open and found him sitting on the couch in front of the window with stars streaking by. Remaining by the door, she tried to begin, but found that everything she’d planned on saying had disappeared. So, she started with the basics. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “I don’t understand you. You said you loved me back at the Academy. It certainly seemed like we were happy together. Then you break up with me out of the blue, claiming that there was someone else, but I know that was a lie. And today…? What is going on?”

Kee felt tears trying to push their way into her eyes. What excuse did she have for hurting him like this? What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she let herself be with him? Had the violence and suffering of the first half of her life really damaged her so badly that she couldn’t accept happiness when it was right in front of her? Had her past changed her so much that she could only anticipate more of the same for her future? She loved him more than she could have imagined after Traie, but always haunting her was the certainty that it could only end in tragedy. “I…” She began, but couldn’t continue.

His expression softened and he stood to come near her. “What is it? The truth.”

She turned away from him and moved toward the window. When she felt like she was able to speak again, she turned back to him. She’d tell him as much as she could without violating her orders. “I told you about Traie. How I lost him. How it crushed me for so long.” He moved closer without saying anything. “I can’t go through that again. And I can’t bear the thought of you going through it if something were to happen to me. We’re in a dangerous business.” She said, echoing a warning from a lifetime ago.

“Kee, I grew up with parents in Starfleet. I know it’s dangerous. But that doesn’t stop anybody from being together.”

“I’m a security officer. My job is more dangerous than most.” She said, sticking as close as she could to the truth. “I have to be able to charge straight into danger without a second thought. There’s a good chance that I’ll be killed or maybe even just go missing on some mission someday.”

“I’d rather have a short time _with_ you than a lifetime _without_ you.” He said, tentatively placing his hands on her sides. “Maybe it’s time to stop worrying about everyone else and do what you want for a change.” He waited, but she had to answer. “Do you love me?” He finally asked.

Looking up into his eyes, she felt her throat tighten. Nothing else mattered in that moment. “Yes.” She managed to say.

“Then, that’s all that matters.” He said softly then leaned down to kiss her. She finally let go of the fear she’d been holding on to for so long and allowed herself to be swept away into his kiss.

* * *

The last few minutes of Kee’s shift on the bridge ticked away and she wrapped up the diagnostic she’d been working on. While the computer worked, she watched the pair at the conn. Their chief pilot, Oscar Feinmann, had been showing off the controls to Loren for the past hour. She was fairly certain the two had no idea anyone else was even on the bridge. She could probably sound a red alert without them even noticing.

Ever since being transferred to Earth Planetary Defense, Loren had been wanting to get back out onto a starship. Unfortunately for him, he was an exceptional pilot when it came to small crafts, so he was passed over again and again for starship postings. She knew just enough about that part of their ship to know that an Intrepid-class conn was a dream job for a pilot.

Lieutenant Hascoet, the gamma shift security head, stepped out of the turbolift to take over the tactical position. Kee signed off and moved out of the way for him. She stood just outside the turbolift for a moment watching Loren. The two of them were supposed to meet Maggie for dinner, but she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt his fun, so she boarded the turbolift alone, smiling to herself. “Mess hall.” She told the computer.

_“Lieutenant Norvish, this is Ambassador Taxco.”_

Kee mouthed a silent curse, these three ambassadors had been plaguing her nonstop for the last thirty-six hours. Captain Russel had offered Kee’s services in the role of a security officer, however to them that had meant _concierge_. “This is Norvish. How can I help you Madam Ambassador?” She said in an obligatorily pleasant voice.

_“Please come to my quarters, I’m having trouble programming something in to the replicator.”_

“Lieutenant Palmer is the engineer on duty, I’ll send him right over.”

 _“I asked_ you _to assist me, Ms. Norvish.”_

Kee tipped her head back in exasperation, “Of course, right away, Madam Ambassador.” She made sure the comm link was closed before repeating the curse out loud. “Norv to Capshaw. I’m going to be late.”

* * *

Between the time Kee spent with Loren, her normal duties and assisting the ambassadors with anything and everything they could come up with, the week disappeared quickly. They would be leaving tomorrow to complete the final leg of their journey. _He_ would be leaving.

She laid in bed watching him sleep for a long time. Part of her wanted to wake him up to talk, but another part just wanted to stare at his perfectly relaxed face, his gently closed eyes, his messy hair, and listen to his slow breathing. She would get only one more night with him, then who knew when they’d be able to see each other again.

She worried that, so far away from each other, she’d change her mind again. She felt so completely torn between the normal life she could have with him, the one she _wanted_ to have, and the drive to fight for the safety of the Federation, which she felt compelled to do. Her love for Loren versus her duty with Jeff. She feared that without a formal commitment, she’d eventually choose duty once again.

Kee sat up, “Let’s get married.”

“What?” He said groggily.

“Let’s get married. Today.”

He shook his head, trying to catch up with her. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m not going to change my mind again and I want to prove that to you.”

He sat up to face her. “I believe you.”

“Then let’s get married. We can go talk to the captain as soon as alpha shift begins.”

“Slow down. I _just_ woke up. Where’s this coming from? Walk me through it.”

“I love you. I want to be with you, even if we’re assigned to different posts. And I want this to be permanent. I don’t want anything to come between us again. No matter what.”

“I want that too.”

“You’re leaving with the ambassadors tomorrow. If we don’t do this now, who knows when we’ll see each other again.”

He thought for long moments, never one to make decisions as quickly as she did and finally smiled. “Ok. Let’s do it.”

* * *

Russel lifted a cup of coffee out of the replicator. Her last shipment of real, nonreplicated coffee had run out weeks ago, and she’d been surviving on replicated coffee so far. After the ambassadors’ runabout left tomorrow, she’d have to make a side trip to replenish her supply before their next assignment.

Before she’d walked even three steps away from the replicator, the door chime sounded. “Come.” She said.

Norv and the pilot from the Hertzler, Lieutenant… Dales, came in holding hands. Word spread quickly around a ship this size and the news of the week was that they had rekindled an old flame. “Lieutenants, what can I do for you?”

“Captain,” Norv began, “We’d like you to marry us.”

That was by far the last thing she expected to hear. Norv was not an impulsive person. A quick decision maker, but not impulsive. “Hold on. Say that again?”

“We want you to marry us.” She repeated, dead serious.

“Are you sure? This seems a bit sudden.” Besides that, her position with SI made this highly unusual. Not unheard of, just very unexpected.

“It is, but it isn’t.” She said cryptically. “We were together back at the Academy and we maintained a long-distance relationship for a while after that. But we’re together again now and we want to make it official.”

“A long-distance marriage isn’t much easier than a long-distance romance.” She warned.

“It’s not about the distance. I made the wrong decision before and I’m not going to do it again.”

Russel looked between the two. If Norv had made up her mind, she was certain she’d thought it through more thoroughly than Russel could in the next few minutes. Dales appeared equally confident. She set down her coffee, still standing the few steps from the replicator and placed her hands on each of their shoulders. “I’ll do it. But not here. Come to the mess hall in an hour. Dress uniforms.”

“Thank you.” Both officers said together and turned to leave.

Russel picked up her coffee and began drinking it quickly, she had a wedding to plan in the next hour.

* * *

The hour since they’d spoken to the captain hadn’t changed anything in Kee’s mind. She was as certain of this choice as she had been anything else in her life. Jeff wouldn’t be happy, but she could handle him. Loren didn’t happen to have brought his dress uniform with him, so they’d had to replicate one. He looked so handsome in it. Almost enough that she’d rather skip the whole thing and take him back to her quarters.

Her mother would no doubt reject this entire thing as invalid and insist that she bring him home for a ‘real’ wedding ceremony. Assuming she accepted him at all, she’d never been happy about her dating a non-Bajoran.

They stood in front of the doors to the mess hall for a split second, turned to smile at each other and stepped forward. As the doors parted, Kee was startled to find a crowd filling the room. The three ambassadors were there, the senior officers and almost the entire security staff stood around the room in their dress uniforms with the captain in the middle.

Kee felt herself laugh nervously, she’d expected a quiet ceremony with a couple of witnesses, not this. Maggie stepped forward from next to the doorway and wrapped her arms around her. After a quick squeeze, she pressed a bundle of flowers into her hand. Kee looked between them and Maggie, confused.

“Just hold them.” Maggie whispered.

Kee obeyed and looked up at Loren who seemed just as uncomfortable with being the focus of a spectacle as she was, but they awkwardly stepped forward in front of the captain anyway.

When the discordant noises had quieted, Russel began. “One of the most pleasant duties of a senior officer is the privilege of joining two people together in matrimony. And so, it is my honor to unite you, Norvish Keedra, and you, Loren Dales, together in marriage. Kee, do you accept this man as your husband, to love and cherish above all others, until death separates you?”

She looked up at him, “Yes.”

“Loren, do you accept this woman as your wife, to love and cherish above all others, until death separates you?”

“Yes.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but I took a moment to look up the traditional Bajoran marriage pronouncement. Uh, forgive me when I thoroughly mispronounce some of this: Boray pree hadokee. Tolata impara boresh. Preeya Loren, preeya Kee. Abrem varo atel. You may kiss the bride.”

Kee turned to him as he slipped his hands around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He lifted her onto her toes to kiss her. His lips pressed firmly against hers and she felt her body melt into his. She vaguely heard the applause of the attendees, but they seemed far away like there was nothing for lightyears all around them. Only the two of them and their pledge kiss.

Finally separating, Kee looked around to see her friends and crewmates offering their congratulations. One group, led by Maggie, were trying to get her attention.

“Throw the flowers!” Maggie told her.

She’d forgotten they were even in her hand. “What?” She looked back and forth between the bundle of flowers and Maggie.

“Throw it.” She prompted.

Kee shrugged and reached her arm back to chuck the flowers at the group.

“No! Like this.” Maggie pantomimed the motion of throwing them backward over her shoulder.

Kee looked uncertainly at Loren and he nodded for her to do it, so she turned away from the group and tossed them over her shoulder. When she turned around she found that Lieutenant Brisk had caught them. He held them up to the cheering crowd. Kee could only shake her head. Humans were weird. Before she could finish the thought, Maggie had wrapped her in a tight embrace and pulled her into the midst of the celebrating group.

* * *

Kee walked back to her quarters looking forward to spending as much of their last evening together as possible, but as she approached, she could hear raised voices through her door. One was Loren’s, the other was harder to identify at first. Finally, she recognized who it was… Jeff! She quickly opened the door to find Loren standing in front of her console.

“… where do you get off telling her what she can and can’t do?!” Loren was shouting at the console.

 _“I didn’t_ tell _her to do anything! She makes her own decisions. Now you’ve somehow persuaded her to go against what she knows is best!”_ Jeff’s raised voice came from the comm. She’d never heard him so upset, even in the worst situations they’d been in.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Kee inserted herself between the two men, gently pushing Loren away from the console. She pointed at him first, “ _You_ have nothing to do with _him_.” She pointed at Jeff, “And _you_ have nothing to do with _him_. What is even going on here?”

Loren shook his head, looking embarrassed, “A message came in on a Starfleet channel with no ID, so I answered it. Turns out it’s some guy, claiming he has some kind of connection with you, but won’t say what.”

Kee turned back to Jeff. “And you? Did you need me for something, or did you just call to pick a fight?”

 _“You got_ married _!? You know how dangerous this is.”_

“Have you been _watching_ me?” She shot back at him.

 _“No.”_ He backed down, but only a tiny bit. _“I’ve been keeping an eye on him because he’s important to you. Even if you weren’t together, I know you’d be devastated if anything happened to him.”_

She softened a bit at that. She couldn’t be too upset now.

_“The system alerted me that his marital status had changed. I thought that meant he’d found someone else, but when I checked it out, I saw your name. Kee, I’ve known you for a long time, this isn’t like you. What were you thinking?”_

“I was thinking that I wanted to marry him and that maybe I’m allowed to make my own choices once in a while.”

_“Did you tell him about your involvement with SI?”_

Kee threw up her hands, “No, but you just did!”

“SI?” Loren repeated.

Kee turned to him, “I can explain it, just give me a minute.” She turned back to Jeff. “Look, I know how you feel about attachments. But I’ve lived my entire life under someone else’s rules and I’m done with that. I made a decision for _me_ for once. I am going to have this.”

_“Kee, this is a mistake.”_

“Maybe. But it’s my mistake to make.”

He sighed without the stern expression leaving his face, _“I hope I’m wrong.”_

“I do too.”

_“I’m working on something. But I can't talk about it on an open comm, I’ll contact you shortly.”_

“Okay.”

Jeff glanced over her shoulder with a scowl before reaching up to close the channel.

Kee reluctantly turned around to face Loren who was standing with his arms crossed. “I couldn’t tell you. I was under orders.”

“So, you really _are_ an SI agent?”

“Yes.”

“For how long?”

“Officially, three years.”

“‘Officially’?”

“There was that time back at the Academy when I left for a couple of weeks.”

He scoffed and dropped himself down onto the couch.

“It was supposed to be a one-off. And I was under orders not to talk about it. You know that part. Then three years ago they wanted me permanently.”

“Was that the reason you broke up with me?”

“Yes.”

“Was it _his_ idea?” He gestured to the console.

“Yes, but it’s not like that. It’s better for agents to have no attachments. He’s my partner, he was trying to help.”

“When you broke up with me, you said there was someone else. Did you mean him.”

“Yes.” She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

“Did you sleep with him?”

Kee hesitated, she couldn’t lie to him. Not anymore.

He took her hesitation as confirmation and scoffed and turned away.

“Not while you and I were together.” She offered.

“So, he picks you as a partner, tells you to break it off with me, then he swoops in?”

“It’s not like that. It just sort-of happened. But that ended years ago. It’s strictly professional between us now.” She finally ventured closer and sat hear him. “You were _supposed_ to move on. Forget about me.”

“How could I?” She could see the hurt in his eyes, just like when she’d first ended it with him. “There could never be anyone else. I love you and nothing will ever change that. Not even this.”

She fought the lump in her throat, “I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you. Maybe I should have. But I had my orders. You and I are both Starfleet officers. We swore an oath to Starfleet before we even knew each other. If we’re ordered to secrecy, we _have_ to obey, even between us. Please understand.”

She waited for him to respond, but he didn’t. “If this changes things and you want to back out…”

He quickly turned more fully toward her, “No. Not at all. You talk about our commitment to Starfleet, but we have a commitment to each other, not just from yesterday, but from the moment we fell in love. This doesn’t change that.”

She hung her head for a moment, realizing not for the first time, that he was a much better person than she was. “I’m sorry that I hurt you. Not just with this, but before. It’s just that, I’ve been so focused on my job for almost my entire life. It was the only thing they couldn’t take away from me back then. It’s all I really know how to do.”

“You need this, don’t you?”

“I’ve tried to tell myself that I do it because _they_ need _me_ , not the other way around. But I do. I don’t quite feel whole without it.” Admitting it out loud, Kee suddenly felt like a weight had been lifted, not only since the moment she walked into her quarters tonight, but one she hadn’t realized she was carrying for the last three years. She leaned forward and kissed her husband.

He leaned into the kiss for a moment then pulled away. “So…do you go places under cover?” He said with an odd smile.

“Frequently.”

“You get all dressed up and you seduce the mark to get whatever you need?”

She smiled self-consciously, “Sometimes.”

He smiled with a sparkle in his eyes, “That’s really sexy.”

She laughed as she leaned in for another kiss.

* * *

With a heaviness in her stomach, she walked Loren to the shuttle bay. At best, it could be months until they got to see each other again. At worst, never. Somehow, she could never quite believe she would ever be allowed to be happy permanently. Maybe eventually, through sheer force of will, she could convince herself that she could be happy.

They arrived before anyone else so that they could say their goodbye in private. She entertained a short fantasy about climbing into the runabout and flying away in it together. Before she could even consider where they’d go, reality reinserted itself into her mind and she reminded herself how impractical it would be.

They stood next to the open door of the runabout holding each other for a long time. She listened to his heartbeat. Felt his warmth and strength. Breathed in his cologne. She felt her resolve falter, she wanted him to stay, somehow. Finally, she turned to kiss him, deep and passionate as he pressed her against the hull of the ship that would be taking him away.

Too soon, the bay doors opened and Russel and the ambassadors sauntered through. Kee and Loren straightened up. “Goodbye.” She whispered.

“Goodbye.” He replied. There was nothing more to say than the kiss hadn’t already communicated. Their time together had been an emotional sine wave, she hoped it would smooth out from here.

He entered the runabout and Kee walked over to join her captain who was in the middle of a formal goodbye, but she didn’t hear a word of it, only stared at the runabout. Without her realizing it, the ambassadors had boarded the ship and the engines initiated. As she watched, the runabout slowly lifted off and passed silently through the forcefield at the far end of the bay. Finally, the door began to slide down over the opening and she vaguely felt the captain’s hand rest on her shoulder.

* * *

The sounds of battle were all around her. Explosions, phaser fire, people shouting, screaming, the engines of support skimmers overhead. Smoke from the bombs burned her nose and eyes. She pulled a dirty scarf over her mouth to filter out most of the smoke as she pressed herself against a tree that was just wide enough to hide her from the enemy.

A phaser blast hit a nearby tree, causing the trunk to explode. She covered her face as splinters of wood flew everywhere like fiery shrapnel. When she looked around again she could just make out people around her through the haze taking cover behind the Jorallan landscape. She tried to call out to them, but her voice wouldn’t work.

In the flash of an explosion, she could see the faces of the people that were with her. She didn’t know them. They weren’t members of her cell. Who were they? Where was she?

Someone called out the code word for retreat and the others began to peel back in pairs, covering each other. She tried to move back with them but when she moved away from her hiding place, something tripped her and she fell.

She could hear the enemy advancing, firing over her head at the retreating rebels. She tried to get up, to follow, but something was wrapped around her ankle. She pulled hard, but she was stuck. When she turned over to see what held her down, she found a manacle around her ankle attached by a thick chain to an unmovable duranium weight. She tried to pull again, but it anchored her to the spot. She panicked as the enemy neared and she tried to raise her phaser, but it was too heavy to lift.

A silhouette backlit by the forest fire and wrapped in smoke stood over her. When she could make out the details of his features, she saw it wasn’t a Cardassian at all. Wasn’t even any species she’d ever seen. No, she realized, he was a mixture of many species she’d encountered in battle: Cardassian, Jem’hadar, Orian, Farian, Lethean, Finnean and others. She felt paralyzed as he pointed his weapon down at her. The weapon flashed as it discharged…

Kee gasped for breath and found herself sitting straight upright in bed. She swallowed to wet her dry throat. Had she screamed? She consciously slowed her breathing to help steady her racing heart. She glanced at the chronometer, which read zero-three-zero-seven. Just as she was about to lay back down, her nose started to itch uncontrollably and her eyes watered. A moment later, she sneezed. Then she sneezed again, and again and again. Then a sinking realization dawned on her.

“Oh, no. No, no, no.” She said aloud to the empty room.

* * *

This early in the morning, the corridors were empty and dimly lit to simulate night. At this point, Kee was wide awake as she hurried toward Maggie’s quarters. She hoped her friend would forgive her for waking her up at this hour as she pressed the door chime. On the way over, she’d already had another two sneezing attacks.

She forced herself to wait patiently. Maggie probably had to wake up and get out of bed still. But before she expected it, the door opened and she found herself looking straight into the bronze, well-muscled and bare chest of Ensign Kaohi.

“Uh, Lieutenant.” He greeted her uncertainly.

She recovered herself and looked him in the eye. “Ensign.”

Without another word, he scooted past her and down the corridor with the missing pieces of his uniform bundled in his arm.

Kee watched him for a moment before stepping into Maggie’s quarters without being formally invited, giving her best impression of a Vulcan eyebrow raise.

Maggie stood there, dressed only slightly more than Ensign Kaohi had been and shrugged.

“You know, he’s my subordinate. Shouldn’t you ask my permission before assigning him new duties?”

Maggie giggled like someone who was far too young to have done what she had obviously done with Kaohi. When she recovered her composure, she asked, “Do you need something, or did you just feel the need to interrupt my love life at three in the morning?”

“The first one, but I like the second one better.” She said with mock seriousness.

“What is it you need?” Maggie said, dropping the humor in her voice.

Kee hesitated, tempted to continue sidestepping the issue, but forced herself to press on. “I need you to scan me.”

The smooth space between her eyebrows wrinkled, “Okay, let’s go to sickbay, then.”

“No.” She said more sharply than she had intended. “It may be nothing and I’m just worrying for no reason, but if that’s not the case, I want to keep it quiet. At least for now.”

“Okay.” She said slowly, then turned away to find her med kit.

Kee sat down on the couch and Maggie returned with a tricorder. She sat next to Kee and began passing the hand scanner first over Kee’s head and chest. As she continued downward, Kee held her breath. Just as she anticipated, Maggie stopped at her pelvis and concentrated on the readings. She tapped at the tricorder’s interface and scanned again. Kee’s heart sank.

Finally, Maggie looked up and smiled. “You’re pregnant!”

The confirmation hit her like a gut punch. It had taken every nerve she had just to commit to Loren, but this… this was a whole level she wasn’t prepared for. Her mind went back to that strange nightmare she had. Was this the weight that was going to hold her down? Kee sighed heavily and let her head drop.

“This wasn’t planned, was it?” Maggie guessed.

Her head was spinning and it took a moment for her to realize Maggie had asked her a question. “No. I don’t even understand how it could have happened.”

Maggie reached for a padd on the coffee table. “You see… when a man and a women-” She stopped when she saw the daggers in Kee’s eyes. “Sorry.” She tapped at the pad for a moment. “It looks like you haven’t been very consistent in coming in for your contraceptive doses.”

“That’s because I wasn’t planning on doing anything that would require it.”

Still consulting he padd. “And you came in for it the day _after_ Loren arrived.”

“But that was only once!” She held up her hand, “Okay, twice. But still.”

“It only _takes_ once, especially if he was similarly inconsistent about his.”

Kee slid down on the couch to rest her head on the back. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“If you really don’t want this, we could go to sickbay and-”

“No.” She sat straight up. “No. I got myself into this and I’ll have to figure out what to do.” She sighed heavily. “Can you tell what the due date will be?”

Maggie consulted the tricorder again, “It’s hard to say at this point. We don’t have record of enough Human-Bajoran hybrids to be able to predict the development. It could be the normal Human gestation period, the normal Bajoran gestation period or somewhere in between. We should have a better idea once we have a few more weeks of development to analyze.” She bit her lip and looked up at Kee, “Do you want to know the gender?”

Kee’s heart pounded at the suggestion. Having a gender to call it would certainly make it more real and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing at this point. “Yes?” She said uncertainly.

Maggie smiled, “It’s a girl.”

Kee’s miniature panic attack was interrupted with a sneeze, but only a single one this time.

“That’s at least something I can help you with.” Maggie said. “Doctor Bashir on Deep Space Nine developed a treatment that’s been very effective in inhibiting the sneezing.”

“Thank you. I-”

Rice’s voice on the comm cut off the rest of her sentence. _“Alpha shift security personnel report to the armory.”_

Kee immediately stood. “Can I still carry out my duties?”

“At this point, as long as you feel up to it, you can do anything you normally do. The fetus is almost microscopic, so anything that would cause her injury, would also be harmful to you.” She pursed her lips, “And I say that hesitantly, knowing the kinds of situations you get yourself into.”

“I’ll be careful.” She promised.

“I’ll get that medication replicated for you. Come by sickbay as soon as you can.” She said as Kee waved a quick _thank you_.

* * *

Even though Kee was not assigned to the alpha shift, she headed straight to the armory from Maggie’s quarters. The main room was already full of security officers, including Ensign Kaohi. He was obviously avoiding eye contact with her. As she stood near the edge of the double row of her colleagues, the last few made their way in, still a bit bleary-eyed.

“We’ve received a distress call from the Hertzler.” Rice began. The officers around her straightened. _Loren_. She fought to control her already raw emotions, but she wasn’t nearly as good at it as she once was. The goodbye, the dream, the pregnancy and now this. She couldn’t lose him. She forced herself to breathe and focus on the briefing when all she wanted to do to was charge after him with phasers blasting.

“There are a number of Brekkian factions that are opposed to the Federation being involved in the negotiations. We believe one of these factions have taken the ambassadors and Lieutenant Dales hostage, but we haven’t yet received communication to that effect.”

Hascoet handed a padd to each officer. The beeping chatter as the padds were activated helped to ground her concentration. “We have thirteen known bases of operation for these factions and will continue to refine that number as we gather more information.”

“We are already on course for the Delos system.” Rice continued, “Endeavor will hold position just outside the system and we’ll go in with the Gyges. The hull plating will conceal our approach to all but the most sophisticated sensors. And Brekkian/Ornarian technology could never be described as ‘sophisticated’. Once we’re in range, we’ll begin searching for our people.”

Rice turned away to retrieve something. “Both races involved in this conflict are Bioelectrogenic and can deliver an immobilizing shock to an opponent up to half a meter away.” He held up what looked like the exoskeletal suits commonly used by Elaysians to compensate for higher gravity away from their home world. It was basically a shoulder piece and several arm and leg bands connected by flexible circuitry. “This is essentially a faraday suit that will channel the bioelectric current away from your body and into the ground. Get comfortable with these suits, there’s a good chance we’ll be using them in hand to hand combat. Any questions?” When no one spoke up. “Alright, then. We’ll be arriving in just under three hours.”

* * *

After a brief stop by sickbay for what Maggie had come up with to stop her sneezing, Kee stepped off of the turbolift onto the bridge. The situation was weighing more and more heavily on her with every second that passed. She needed to talk to someone. With only a few strides, she stood before the captain’s ready room and pressed the chime.

_“Come.”_

Kee stepped forward to enter.

“Lieutenant.” She said with sympathy. “We’ll do everything we can to bring him back safely.”

“I know. That’s not why I’m here.” She stood with her hand clasped in front of her, unsure how to start.

Russel recognized the unease on her face and came out from behind her desk. “Come, sit down.” She said, guiding her over to the seating area. “What is it?”

“I’m pregnant.” She blurted out. “And honestly, I’m scared. I don’t know how I can continue doing my job.”

Russel’s jaw dropped for a split second but she recovered quickly, “Well, the protocol is for parents of infants and small children to be transferred to more secure posts or-”

“I’m not talking about protocol. I’m talking about my _job_. Security officers and SI agents usually don’t have families.”

“True, but that’s not always the case.”

Kee stood up and paced a few steps. “When I was growing up, being pregnant was a dangerous thing. If the woman was a laborer, the pregnancy could be terminated or she might just be executed outright because of the disruption to the workflow. If she was in a refugee camp the lack of food and medical care made survival of either the mother or child uncertain. In the Resistance if a woman became pregnant, she would have to hide out at a safe house for the duration and if she wanted back in the fight, she’d have to leave the baby with foster parents. Often permanently.”

She sighed heavily and sat back down. “My situation isn’t unlike that. I can’t just go off missions with no notice if I have a child to take care of. I can’t be free to run recklessly into dangerous situations knowing that there’s someone waiting for me to come home. This is exactly what Jeff warned me about, I should know better. And Loren and I don’t even live together, how can we take care of a baby? One of us or the other will have to sacrifice their career.”

Russel placed her hands on top of Kee’s to stop her. “It’s not going to be easy, but you’ll figure this out. I assume you haven’t had a chance to tell him yet.”

“I just found out early this morning.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “This is supposed to be a joyful time in a person’s life, but all I feel is panic. I don’t know how to do this.”

“You’re panicked because you’re not in control.”

“I’ve rarely ever been in control of my life.”

“Maybe not of your life, but you’re _always_ in control of _yourself_. And now you’re not and that scares you.” Russel shifted on the couch, “Just let yourself go for a moment. Allow yourself to be swept away with the wonder of creating a new life. We have time to worry about everything else.”

We.

Kee consciously relaxed her shoulders and back. The captain was right, there was no use worrying about any of that, at least until she knew Loren was safe. “You’re right.” She stood up. “Only you and Maggie know about this and I’d like to keep it that way for now. If Rice knew, he’d want to pull me off of the rescue team.”

“Are you sure it’s wise for you to go?”

“No. But Loren’s in danger and I have to do everything in my power to save him.”

“Alright. It’s your choice.”

* * *

By the time they reached the edge of the Delos system, the Brekkian group calling themselves Brekkia First had transmitted a message to Starfleet Command demanding weapons and ships in exchange for the hostages, which narrowed the list of thirteen possible locations down to two.

The team of eight security officers and Endeavor’s chief helmsman slipped into the system in their almost-undetectable shuttle. Kee had spent a good number of hours in a nearly identical version of the Gyges, but being one of the prototypes of the final version of the shuttle, the interior of Jeff’s was far less refined. His was also, naturally, unnamed, being referred to only as Passive-Dispersion-Prototype-Shuttle-Four.

Kee did her best to put her personal concerns out of her mind. She used to be so much better at compartmentalizing her feelings. It was an essential survival skill all those years ago, if not a healthy one. Instead of worrying about what she couldn’t change, she focused on the task at hand. The faraday suits were a bit clumsy the strips of circuitry that ran along the user’s arms and legs could easily be grabbed by an opponent, but the rear compartment of the Gyges was the perfect size for a bit of sparing practice. Kee and Rice had taken their turn first, both inflicting a few bruises on the other, which gave them a better feel for the technique, enabling them to instruct the rest. 

Since there had been no time for breakfast before they left, they each downed a field ration. By the time they were done they’d already ruled out the first location and were approaching the second one on the far side of Brekkia’s fifth moon.

Ensign Berryessa emerged into the aft compartment from the cockpit. “Sir, we aren’t picking up any lifesigns on the moon, but there is evidence of a dampening field.”

“Sounds like this might be the place.” Rice said as he went into the cockpit. “Any sign we’ve been detected?” He asked Feinmann.

“None.”

“Good, we’ll beam down as close to the edge of the dampening field as possible, then you stay out of site. This thing might be nearly invisible to sensors, but not to the naked eye.”

“Acknowledged.”

While he was giving Feinmann his orders, Kee called up a visual of the target area on a side console. The computer indicated the dampening field with a large circle that covered part of the ruins of a lunar settlement. The place looked like it had been the site of an intense battle, only a few buildings were left standing and the ones that were looked like one good seismic quake would level them.

Rice leaned over her shoulder and pointed to one side of the dampening field. “I’ll take team one and beam down here.” Then he pointed to the opposite side of the circle, “Norv, you and team two will beam down here. Assuming their base is at or near the center of the dampening field, we’re looking at one of these three buildings.” He said as he pointed to a grouping of buildings in the center.

“Understood.” Kee turned around to see the security officers already splitting into the two groups. She joined Ensigns Kaohi, Whitney and Berryessa as Whitney handed her a phaser rifle. She automatically went through the precheck process on it then patted the hand phaser to confirm that it was secure on her hip and waved her team over to the transporter area between the cockpit and aft section.

Team one stepped onto the pad first and quickly disappeared. Without waiting for the order, team two stepped onto the transporter pad. Feinmann checked over his shoulder to confirm that they were ready and as soon as he turned back around, she began to feel the transporter sweep them away.

* * *

Kee’s team materialized next to a crumbling wall that had once been part of a building and immediately crouched down beside it. She held her hand up to the side of the tricorder to shade the display from the setting sun and located their target zone based only on compass direction and distance. “Just under half a kilometer to the target, that way.” She pointed in the direction the tricorder indicated. “You two, cover.” She said pointing at Whitney and Berryessa.

The two officers she indicated lifted their rifles and visually scanned the area while Kee and Kaohi darted from their hiding place to another one where they prepared to cover the other two. Whitney and Berryessa then took their turn to move forward separate but parallel to the first two. They continued using the bounding overwatch method to advance forward.

At one point while they were covering the other group, Kee said to Kaohi, “By the way, if you ever make Maggie unhappy, I will hurt you.”

The ensign kept his eyes on his task but clearly tensed.

For a little added incentive, she said, “I know when you’re off duty and I have access codes.”

“Understood.” He finally said.

Just as it was their turn to move forward again, she said lightly, “Good. I’m glad we’re in agreement.” When she was sure he couldn’t see her face, she allowed herself a little smirk. She was mostly kidding… mostly.

“Keep your eyes open,” she said to her team, “The closer we get, the more likely we’ll run into opposition.”

Night fell quickly on a small satellite like this and it was soon difficult to see. They’d leapfrogged only two more times when someone jumped out and grabbed her from the side. Electricity danced across her faraday suit for an impossibly slow second before she was able to pull away. She heard the members of her team similarly attacked as she swung her phaser rifle up and over to aim at the attacker but he reached out to grab the tip, sending his bioelectricity surging into the weapon. Kee dropped it only a split second before the power cell burst, sending sparks everywhere.

She tried to kick him in the midsection but he blocked it and swung a punch with his other hand but she was able to duck. While his arm was still outstretched from the wide swing, she jammed her elbow into his ribs.

With his other arm, he swung a second punch. She deflected it with her forearm against the inside of his elbow and in the same motion grabbed his upper arm then punched the heel of her other hand into his chest.

Still holding onto his arm, she twisted it around behind him, causing him to bend forward and placed her other hand against the outside of his elbow to press it in the wrong direction.

He swept his leg out behind him to trip her and she lost her grip on him as she went down. She rolled to her stomach and bound back to her feet.

He swung another punch at her, she grabbed his forearm and turned to the side to jab her elbow into his stomach then bent down and flipped him over her back. He held on to her and she found herself on the ground next to him.

She swung her leg out to kick, he deflected but she wrapped both legs around his waist and rolled him over. Pulling her foot free of his grasp, she kicked her heel into his face.

 _“Rice to Norv, what’s your position?”_ She heard his voice in her earpiece.

She rotated to bounce back to her feet and found him staggering to his feet across from her with a bloody nose. One more hit ought to do it, she thought. She kicked him square in the chest. He fell back against the wall and slid down out cold.

“Norv here. We’re about three blocks from the target.”

_“We’re four blocks away. We ran into some friends.”_

“So did we. See you soon.”

* * *

Loren tried shifting his position again. His entire backside had gone numb from sitting on the floor for hours. Having his hands bound behind his back didn’t help the matter, it forced his back into a cramped position. The way his neck and shoulder hurt where one of the Brekkians had used her bioelectricity on him and he wondered if there was some kind of burn there.

Endeavor would still be the nearest starship when they were attacked and would likely be the one to respond. Calculating based on the time since they left Endeavor, the maximum speed of warp five for their runabout and the Endeavor’s maximum speed of warp nine-point-nine, they could expect a team to show up any time.

The ambassadors were uninjured, but the way they complained, one would never guess. Taxco was constantly shifting positions, and only slightly more often than Vadosia. Lojal was the only one sitting still, deep in some kind of Vulcan meditation.

Loren looked up at the jagged hole in the roof longingly. Other than the broken-out window next to the locked and guarded door, that hole in the roof was the only way in or out. If it hadn’t been for the restraints, he could easily have lifted the ambassadors and himself out through it. But then what? They had no weapons and he was a flyer not a fighter. He wasn’t like Kee who could take on an enemy with nothing but her bare hands.

Tuning out the ambassadors’ complaints, he smiled to himself a little bit. If Endeavor was the one to respond, Kee would certainly be on the team. He always loved seeing her in action, though he usually only got to see it during practice sparring.

Interrupting his reverie, motion above the hole in the ceiling caught his attention. A pair of Starfleet-uniformed legs dangled through the opening for a moment before Kee dropped silently to a crouch on the floor. Such a beautiful site. He craned over to see that the guard on the other side of the glassless window frame hadn’t reacted and was still facing away.

Kee hurried over to him and reached wordlessly around behind his back. He felt her breath against his neck and the cold metal of a blade against his hand, the polymer strip that was wrapped around his wrists tightened then broke free. She pressed the handle of the knife into his hand and pulled out her phaser.

While she crept closer to the window he moved over to cut the ambassadors’ bonds. Once he had done so, she handed him a second phaser she had attached to her uniform. She covered her mouth to speak into her commbadge without the guard able to hear her, or even Loren right next to her. Then she motioned for the ambassadors to stay where they were.

“Don’t fire your phaser unless absolutely necessary.” She said almost inaudibly. “We need to be the least conspicuous group out of the whole team.”

As soon as weapons fire began outside, she leaned into the window and shot the guard point-blank and slipped through to the outside. He angled out to cover her while she pulled a lockchip out of the guard’s pocket. A moment later, the door swung open and he motioned the ambassadors out to her.

When he followed, Kee motioned for him to lead the group down the empty street in the opposite direction from the sound of weapons fire. He moved quickly along the building with the ambassadors close behind him and Kee bringing up the rear. As he reached the corner, a security officer was waiting to join them, Kaohi, he thought his name was.

The three officers surrounded the ambassadors and ushered them through the dark streets of the ruined colony. Just before they reached what he assumed was the edge of some kind of dampening field that prevented them from being transported out, they were spotted. A phaser beam pounded the ground next to the group sending dust and chunks of stone into the air.

“Go!” Kee shouted to him and the ambassadors while she and Kaohi found cover.

He hesitated, not wanting to leave her, but he had to trust her. This was her job, just like they’d talked about. And he certainly didn’t want to face her wrath if he tried to interfere. He reluctantly kept moving while the two security officers drew the enemy’s fire.

Once they were some distance away, he finally felt the transporter take hold. The last thing he heard was Kee’s order to retreat, “Peel!”

* * *

Kee and Kaohi managed to retreat far enough to emerge from the dampening field and were immediately beamed up followed moments later by the other members of the security team. With any luck, they’d be able to slip back out of the system before anybody thought to look out a window to locate them visually. While Rice took up tactical in the cockpit and Ensign Whitney tended to the ambassadors, Kee quickly hurried to Loren’s side. Ignoring the others present, she grasped the sides of his face and kissed him hard.

She soon felt his hands around her waist and finally pulled away from the kiss. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“Same here.” He said, looking down into her eyes.

Something on the side of his neck caught her eye and she guided him to a bench where he could sit down. She inspected further to find burn marks down his neck. Ignoring his abashed looks, she unfastened his collar and pulled his uniform open to expose more spidery burns across his shoulder.

“One of them got me.” He explained while she turned away to reach a nearby med kit.

“Hold still.” She muttered and held a dermal regenerator up to the burn. While she worked, she saw him focus on her the side of her face toward her cheekbone that she was fairly certain was badly bruised. She finished and lowered the dermal regenerator to rest in her lap where he took it from her. He turned her face away from him with the back of his finger and began working on the bruise. She waited quietly for him to finish.

When he was done, he looked intently at her with a furrowed brow. “What’s wrong?” He knew her so well.

“I…” She began, then lowered her voice so the others wouldn’t hear. It seemed like they’d had an awful lot of difficult conversations lately. She prepared to drop a bomb on him that would change his life forever. No point in stalling, “I’m pregnant.” she said quickly.

She waited as he processed her words, probably running them through his mind to be sure he had understood her correctly. Confusion briefly crossed his features and to her surprise, his face suddenly lit up with a wide smile. “A baby?” He said in an excitedly hushed voice.

His smile melted away her worry, her fear, her doubt and she realized her own lips had curled into a smile. “A girl.”

“This is incredible!” He said almost loud enough to get the attention of the others.

“I’m glad you think so.” She said as the uncertainty began to return.

“You don’t?”

“I don’t know. I… I never even gave it any thought. Since I was very young, my life has been a constant struggle. Always fighting to move forward. Always focused on the effort. Having a child never crossed my mind. And now…” She shook her head. “I just don’t know what to do.”

He reached up and cupped the side of her jaw to pull her intimately close, “Except that this time it’s is not a fight you have to face alone. We’re in this together.”

A pang of sadness hit her heart. “Eventually _you_ may be in this alone. You know what I do, all of it now. I have to pour everything I have into my job just to survive. And any one of these missions could mean my death. I hate the idea of you having to raise our child alone.” Her voice tightened.

“It’s true, that’s a possibility. But it’s one I’m willing to face. And if I do lose you some day, at least now I’ll have a little piece of you to keep forever.” He said, placing his hand on her stomach.

She blinked tears away, “That… makes me feel weirdly better.”

He smiled again, “I’m always willing to do anything for you weirdly.”

Kee couldn’t help but giggle.


	7. What? No scolding for taking unnecessary risks?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year: 2380

Kee rushed into her quarters with an alert already sounding on her console. She dropped the padd she was holding and slid quickly into her seat. She pressed the control to accept the communication and the screen obediently came to life, showing her Loren’s smiling face.

_“For a moment there, I thought we had missed you.”_

She smiled back at him, “No. I was just running late. Hascoet was late for his shift on the bridge.”

 _“Well,”_ He leaned out of the frame for a moment and lifted their baby girl up where she could see her. _“I don’t think Iliah noticed at all.”_

Loren was caring for their daughter on Earth with the help of his parents. Kee missed them both terribly, but this was the only arrangement that could possibly work. For now, anyway. Russel had promised her that the next helm position to come available on Endeavor would be his. Kee didn’t want to get his hopes up, so she hadn’t said anything just yet.

She smiled wide at the squirmy, happy and still bald little baby. The moment she caught her attention, Iliah broke into an open-mouth, toothless grin and shrieked happily.

“I’m happy to see you too!” Kee cooed.

_“She’s been getting up on her hands and knees, I think she’s trying to crawl, but so far she can only go backwards.”_

She laughed, “Is that right?” She addressed Iliah in a sing-song voice. “You only go backwards?”

_“I think her polarity is reversed or something.”_

“Maybe you should have an engineer take a look.” She snickered with him for a minute. “How are you doing?”

_“Fine. We’ve been testing a new navigational array for the next version of the Prometheus-class.”_

“That’s-” An indicator on the right side of her console blinked silently.

The smile fell from his face when he saw her look over at it, he knew that that meant. _“You have to go.”_

“Yes.”

He leaned down next to Iliah’s face and told her, _“We have to say goodbye. Your Mommy has to go save the Federation.”_

“I hope you’re going to stop doing that before she’d old enough to understand.” Kee scolded.

Instead of responding, he raised Iliah’s chubby hand to wave at her. _“Bye bye.”_

Kee waved back and closed the channel, then called up the coded message from Jeff, which was always just a meeting place and time. This time, though, there was also a file attached. When she opened it and skimmed through, she realized that the captain was not going to be happy about this.

* * *

“First, they take _you_ , now they want my helmsman too?” Russel said, waving the padd in the air. The padd contained orders for Lieutenant Feinmann to accompany her to the meeting place.

“They’re not taking him, this is just a one-time assignment.” Kee pointed out.

“Isn’t that what your first mission with SI was?”

“True.” She allowed.

“Why do they need him anyway?”

“I don’t know. The details of these missions aren’t disclosed until we meet in person.”

Russel sighed and turned away, “I’m just expected to give him up?”

“You can file a protest-”

She held up her hand, “Which won’t do any good.”

“No. It won’t.”

She tossed the padd, which would automatically erase itself in about ten minutes, onto her desk. “I’ll inform him. When do you need to leave?”

“We’ll be passing not far from Starbase 249 in a few hours. I need you to order a course correction that will bring us within transporter range.”

“Alright.” She finally gave in. “Good luck.”

“Thank you.” She said and turned to leave.

* * *

Kee materialized in Jeff’s prototype shuttle next to Feinmann who immediately tensed. “This isn’t Starbase 249.”

“Our transporter signal was rerouted here.” She explained. “We’re aboard a passive-dispersion-hull shuttle, one of the later prototypes.” The interior was the same utilitarian space as always. Where the Gyges had distinct forward, aft and sleeping compartments, comfortable furnishings and enough workspaces to accommodate up to ten crew members, this shuttle had only an open interior with a transporter, a small table, a couple of sleeping cots attached to the bulkhead and a lot of storage crates stacked in the rear. The only change was that there were three chairs around the table instead of two. “Our destination was never the starbase.” She informed him.

Jeff turned around in his seat at the conn and approached with his hand extended, “I’m Commander Riggs. Lieutenant Norv and I are with Starfleet Intelligence.”

Feinmann shook Jeff’s hand while looking between the two. “SI?”

“Your presence has been requested on this mission. Afterward, you’ll return to Endeavor to resume your normal duties. Needless to say, you can’t discuss this arrangement with anyone but myself, Captain Russel and Lieutenant Norv.”

“I understand.” He said hesitantly. “Why is it you need me?”

Jeff motioned to the table that he and Kee used for briefings, meals, research and just about everything else. As the three sat down, he began. “We’ve known for some time that the Valerians and Xepolites have been working together on an alliance. Recently, it’s become something more than that. The Reegrunions, Flaxians, Letheans, Kressari and a faction of the Kobliad have joined the group and are now calling themselves The Cooperative.”

“That’s not exactly against interstellar law.” Feinmann interjected.

“No, it’s not. But it’s concerning, especially since we’ve begun intercepting chatter regarding The Cooperative into and out of Breen space.”

“Part of the Dominion surrender agreement was that the Breen would refrain from antagonistic military alignments. I can’t imagine they’d so blatantly defy that stipulation.” Kee said.

“Right. There’s no evidence that the Breen are directly involved. But considering how territorial the Breen are, it’s unlikely they’re unaware of it. It’s likely that they’re just looking the other way while this group uses their space. But politics aside, having this many governments, many of whom are openly antagonistic towards the Federation and its allies, working together secretively inside the territory of an enemy of the Federation, is a matter of extreme concern to Command. We need to find out what exactly they’re up to.”

“I assume you have a lead.” She prompted.

“A Reegrunion named Vargaan. Starfleet Security was about to pick him up on smuggling charges when I realized _who_ he was smuggling for and took over the case. We’ve been watching him for the past few months.” He placed a padd with Vargaan’s profile and mug shot in front of her. “He frequents a bar on Dunu. Kee, you’ll go in and plant a tracker on him.”

“Dunu? That’s deep inside Breen space.” Feinmann pointed out.

“Right. That’s where you come in. These shuttles are almost invisible on sensors, but when dealing with the Breen, almost is not good enough. They could have developed sensor technology since the war that we haven’t anticipated. We need a pilot that’s skilled enough and familiar enough with these shuttles to get us in and out of Breen space and wherever else we’ll need to go.” Jeff leaned back in his chair, signaling he was done. “I’ve already set a course in the general direction of Dunu, you can take over from there. Proceed at your discretion.” He told Feinmann and stood up to head toward the shipping containers in the back.

“That’s it?” Feinmann asked her. “That’s the entire plan?”

“That’s usually all we have to go on in the beginning.” She said, starting to read through the information on their target and location.

He shook his head, “What have I gotten myself into?”

Kee tapped her fist on his shoulder, “Ah, don’t worry, _you_ didn’t get yourself into anything. Command got you into it.” She teased.

Feinmann only laughed nervously and moved to take the conn.

* * *

Feinmann set his freshly replicated dinner of chicken parmesan on the table across from Norv and took a seat. They’d be entering Breen space within the hour and he wanted to be sure to take advantage of what might be his last opportunity for days to have a real sit-down meal.

Norv didn’t look up when he sat, only continued studying the padd in her hand. How an SI agent could be stationed on Endeavor all this time without anybody getting suspicious, he had no idea. He wondered how many of the crew were in on it. The captain, certainly, maybe even Rice. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how often Norv was off ship. Always a different excuse, too. Conferences, special training, personal leave, temporary assignments supposedly aboard other ships. She was easily away from the ship more than any other crewmember. But it all seemed totally ordinary unless one looked at it all as a whole.

Riggs stepped up to the table next to him holding two plates from the replicator and set them down on the crowded table that was probably never used for more than two people. Norv finally set down the padd and looked at the food.

“It’s brown.” She commented flatly.

“I know you don’t like amorphous, brown food, but give it a chance.”

Norv didn’t look convinced when she glanced up at Feinmann’s questioning look. “We have a little tradition where we take turns choosing a dish from our home worlds for the first meal of the mission.”

“Ah.”

She poked at the food. “What is it?”

“It’s an old North American favorite, chicken nuggets with cocktail sauce, tartar sauce and sweet and sour sauce.”

“‘Chicken.’” She repeated uncertainly. “You mean _bird_? You eat _bird_?” She looked between the two Humans. “Willingly?”

“It’s probably one of the most common items in Earth food.”

Feinmann tipped his plate toward her, “What do you think this is?”

“I don’t know. Replicated biomatter?” She laughed, “I’ve never bothered to ask people what animal they were eating.”

The three laughed together for a moment. It felt good to begin to make a connection with the officers, ‘agents’ he corrected himself, that he’d be working with.

“So, what am I supposed to do with these?” She asked, picking up one of the tiny condiment cups. “Put it on top?”

“No, you dip the nuggets in them.”

She picked one up, muttering, “‘ _nuggets_ ’” to herself as she dipped it into the red cocktail sauce and took a tentative bite with a hesitant look on her face. As the two men waited for a reaction, her expression only deepened. “This is… not pleasant.”

Riggs laughed, “I’m sorry. You still have to finish it, you know the rules.”

She let out a resigned sigh and pointed to the sauce, “I like this, though.”

“I thought you would. I ordered it extra spicy for you.”

She smiled while taking another reluctant bite.

Riggs turned to him, “A word of advice, never accept food from her without first finding out how spicy it is.”

Feinmann chuckled and snapped his fingers, “That explains why she and the captain were in the mess hall a few weeks ago, having some kind of bizarre hot pepper contest.”

Norv laughed around the bite in her mouth.

“Who won?” Riggs asked.

“It was a draw. Between the Earth ghost pepper and the Bajoran fovi pepper.”

They ate in silence for a few bites before he asked, “What do you have against brown food, anyway?”

“In the refugee camp where I grew up we didn’t have access to fresh food,” She said mater-of-factly, “The food we got was always overcooked, stale and _brown_. Many different shades of brown, but always brown. You couldn’t even tell what any piece had once been.”

He knew where and when she grew up, but he’d never heard her talk about her childhood. He wasn’t sure how to respond and ended up only turning the food in his mouth over.

She looked up at him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your meal.”

He realized he’d been staring and quickly swallowed his bite. “No, it’s not that. I’ve just never heard you talk about it.” She only shrugged and continued eating. He searched for something to fill the silence. “So, um, how long have you been doing this?”

“Since just before the war ended.”

“Quite a while before you got married, then?”

She and Riggs exchanged a strained glance, “Yes.” She said flatly.

“How does that work out?” When she gave him a mildly cross look he backpedaled a bit. “I don’t mean to be intrusive. I was just curious because it doesn’t seem like it would be typical for an agent to have a family.”

She relaxed some and sighed, it was clearly a touchy subject. “It’s not. And SI isn’t exactly thrilled about it, but there’s technically no regulation against an agent having a family.”

“Aren’t you worried that something could happen to them?”

“Constantly.” She said in a tone that made it clear the conversation was finished.

“Well, um, I should get back to the conn.” He picked up his plate and headed toward the replicator.

* * *

Feinmann was still trying to wrap his head around this whole mission when they arrived at Dunu. He’d picked up more than a few tricks for masking the Gyges’ minimal sensor blip and found that they all worked on this prototype as well. So far, they’d snuck right under the noses of the Breen… or their snouts if the shape of the masks were any indication.

Norv had disappeared into the lavatory, which seemed to be the only private compartment on the shuttle, after having dug through several of the storage crates in the rear. His best guess was that she was preparing to go in undercover.

As they approached the outermost planetoid where the tavern was located, he maneuvered the ship into the impulse wake of a Xepolite raider that he was fairly certain had Starfleet phaser banks mounted on the sides. The impulse backwash would hide them from other ships and the Xepolite’s sensors weren’t precise enough to detect them. Unless, of course, they’d also stolen a Starfleet sensor array from wherever they got those phasers.

When Norv finally emerged, he almost didn’t recognize her. Besides heavy makeup, which she rarely used, she had on a tight leather top that showed plenty of cleavage and a matching leather miniskirt revealing legs that were covered with fishnet stockings down to a pair of heavy combat boots.

Fortunately, she stood at an auxiliary console with her back to him so she didn’t catch him staring.

Riggs, however… “Eyes on your work Lieutenant.” He warned quietly.

Feinmann cleared his throat and turned back to his console to wait for a chance to break away from the Xepolite ship.

* * *

Loud music blared through the closed doors of the bar on Dunu before Kee even reached them. The gruff thugs of various races hanging around outside confirmed what she already knew: this was a rough place. The goons looked her up and down but an obscene hand gesture pointed their way discouraged them.

The music blasted louder when the doors opened at her approach. It might have been Klingon music, she thought as she visually scanned the scene. Nausicaans, Farians, Kressari, a Flaxian, and even a few Pakleds loitered around the dimly lit room. A couple of female Chalnoth flirted with a pair of gigolos in a booth. Kee spotted a number of Reegrunions, but none of them were their man. “Are you sure he’s here?” She asked without moving her lips.

 _“His ship’s in orbit, that’s just about the only place to go down there.”_ Jeff’s voice was barely audible in her earpiece over the noise.

She suddenly felt a hand slide around her waist and a drunk Farian moved in front of her. “I haven’t seen you around here before.” He slurred.

Kee put on a seductive smile, “Are you alone tonight?”

“Not anymore.” He said, pulling her deeper into the crowd.

She allowed herself to be whisked along, watching for Vargaan. The sounds of broken glass and fighting didn’t disturb the raucous patrons in the slightest, and could barely be heard over the music anyway.

Finally, she spotted Vargaan standing at the bar and tugged her Farian escort over to it. He took it to mean she wanted to progress their transaction and pressed her against the bar in the empty space next to Vargaan. The lip of the bar dug painfully into her back as the Farian pushed his body against hers and nuzzled her neck.

While he was distracted, she reached her foot out to the side and hooked it around Vargaan’s ankle. When she pulled it out from under him, he fell part way down and smacked his face against the bar. Suddenly, he raised up to his full height and grabbed Kee’s Fairan away from her. “Watch what you’re doing, fool!” He roared at him.

Kee leaned against the bar and watched her handiwork as the drunk Reegrunion decked the drunk Farian with one punch. She put on a distinctly aroused expression when he turned to her. “Well you just took away with my company for the evening.”

“A woman like you deserves better company than _that_.” He said, slipping an arm around her waist possessively. For a Reegrunion, defeating a rival meant he could also claim the loser’s woman. And he was playing right into her hands.

He turned to get the barkeeper’s attention, then asked her. “What would you like?”

“I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

“Breshtanti ale.” He told her. “Might be too strong for someone so delicate.”

She ignored the snickering in her earpiece and reached over to pick up the remnants of his drink and chugged it down with a few swallows. Then she set the empty mug in front of him and looked him steadily in the eye. The inhibitor Jeff dosed her with before beaming down would prevent her from getting drunk, but the taste was absolutely awful, she barely managed to keep her eyes from watering from the vapor that wafted up the back of her nose.

Vargaan smiled and told the bartender, “Two more.” Then he turned back to her and pulled her close excitedly.

She managed to slide her hands up to his chest within his tight embrace. With one hand, she bunched part of his shirt in her fist and pulled him down to kiss her. With the other hand, she slipped a tracker the size of a grain of rice into the inner pocket of his vest.

 _“Tracker’s active.”_ Jeff said into her ear.

Kee pulled away from him just as the bartender set two new drinks in front of them and Vargaan released his grip on her waist.

“I have an idea.” He said slyly. “If you can keep up with me, I’ll double your fee.”

“And if I can’t?”

“I get the whole night for free.”

Kee appeared to mull it over then smiled playfully. “You’re on.”

Without any kind of ritual, he picked up his mug and began to drink. Kee did likewise and downed hers before having to set it down to take a breath.

Vargaan grinned, clearly aroused and waved at the bartender for another refill. When it arrived, Kee leaned toward him, licked her lips and ran her middle finger casually around the lip of his mug to apply the axonol that her fingertip had been coated in earlier. Then she covered up the movement by dipping her index finger into the drink and licked it off seductively.

Vargaan picked up what was at least this third serving, probably more, and enthusiastically drank it down. Kee giggled and bit her lip as though she was impressed with his drinking prowess and waited for the sedative to take effect.

Soon his eyes began to glaze over and he tottered back and forth on his feet before falling backwards onto the floor, right on top of the Farian he’d knocked out a few minutes earlier. Kee reached down to snatch the money pouch out of his pocket to make it seem like a simple theft con when he woke up. She didn’t wait for people to put two and two together before she walked calmly away toward the exit.

She’d almost reached the door when yet another perv grabbed her from behind around the middle. The drink had made her stomach queasy and she was in no mood for this game anymore. In a flash of movement, she swung her elbow up and into the nose of whoever had his hands on her and he quickly backed off. Without waiting for another sudor to try his luck, she marched out of the establishment, pausing long enough to toss the money pouch into the alley, then walked far enough away that she could beam out unseen.

Once she was onboard, she said irritably, “Could you not laugh in my ear while I’m doing that?”

“Sorry.” Jeff said, “I almost feel bad for these guys. They honestly think they have a shot with you.”

“You have something in common with them, then.”

Feinmann let out a snort of laughter and Jeff only shook his head, knowing more of that history than Feinmann did.

“Ugh, I think I might actually vomit this time.” She said, holding her stomach and slinking off to the lavatory. “Ask him about the time in the Al Nair system when we switched roles.” She called behind her to Feinmann.

* * *

Feinmann tapped idly on the controls to make a tiny adjustment to their course. Trailing their smuggler turned out to be much easier than avoiding the Breen patrols hours earlier. Now they seemed to be far enough away from the active traffic routs that the Breen didn’t bother guarding this part of space.

Norv and Riggs were deep into some kind of heavy discussion in the rear that, based on the hushed voices, Feinmann assumed had to do with a different mission than this one. Every so often one or both of them burst out laughing.

He was still having a hard time reconciling _Agent_ Norv with _Lieutenant_ Norv. Onboard Endeavor she was a strict, meticulous, by-the-book model of a Starfleet security officer. Here, she was relaxed, easygoing, even willing to drink it up with a known criminal, all in the name of the mission. Another outburst of laughter came from behind him, followed by an explicit Klingon curse. That was another difference, aboard ship, her language was impeccable.

An indicator on his panel beeped softly. “We’re entering a star system.” He called out. “Cordo.” He added, identifying it for them.

Soon Riggs slipped into the seat beside him and Norv leaned over to peer at the readout.

“How far into Breen territory are we?” She asked.

“Just under four lightyears.” He said, pointing out the starchart on the display between the pilot and copilot panels. “I’m slowing our approach and coming around to the back side of the fifth planet.” He said, touching the appropriate controls. The dynamic of this group was very different than on a starship. He’d come to recognize that orders were not always explicit and taking the initiative was expected.

“Looks like Vargaan is continuing on to the second planet.” Riggs said.

Norv moved to a side console, presumably to look up the system in the ship’s library. “As far as we know, there’s nothing there.” She said after a moment.

“How close can you get us without being detected?” Riggs asked.

“I can get you right up under his nose if you want.”

“Within sensor range will be adequate for now.” He said dryly.

Feinmann took the ship in a wide arc, holding position just outside the orbit of the third planet.

“Take us in a little closer.” Riggs said.

“Bringing us in.” He said, tapping commands without his eyes leaving the viewscreen. The second planet started out as a slightly brighter dot in the sky, growing larger the closer they got. Blocking part of the green planet hung a dark mass. The hulk and planet grew even larger in the viewscreen.

As they approached the second planet, sensors began registering the object in orbit. It was a massive piece of the interior of a ship with one side perfectly curved.

“Picking up magnetic resonance traces consistent with…” Riggs paused, “the Borg footprint.”

Around the piece of Borg ship, they could see some sort of scaffolding, and on that, tiny workers in mismatched environmental suits moving around. Attached to the scaffolding, behind the piece of ship, there was just barely visible the upper control module of an orbital tether, leading down to the planet below.

“What are they _doing_?” Norv asked, leaning over his shoulder again.

“Looks like they’re taking it apart.” Riggs said, “Salvaging it.”

“They’re assimilating the Borg?” She said wryly. “It would be funny if it weren’t so disturbing.”

“Can you take us close enough to transport aboard?” Riggs asked.

“Sure thing.” Feinmann said as he took the ship around toward the orbital tether.

* * *

Kee stepped forward softly on the metal grating in a small side room aboard the upper control module for the orbital tether. The room was lined with closed storage lockers. She could hear soft computer sounds from the interior of the shuttle through the open comm, but other than that, only silence.

Jeff motioned forward to the open doorway and she crept toward it with her phaser ready and her heart pounding. In some ways, this was more nerve-racking than actual combat, sneaking around an empty corridor, not knowing if and when something or someone might appear. The short corridor was clear, so they moved onward together. While she kept watch ahead and behind, he pulled out his tricorder, which he always kept on silent mode to mute the telltale tricorder sounds.

“Maintenance access.” He said softly as they passed the first closed door. The door on the opposite side from that was open to another storage locker room. “Mag-lev carriage docking controls.” He said again at the next doorway then pointed the tricorder toward the closed door on the opposite side of the corridor. “Library access.” He said, pointing to it. “No lifesigns.”

They took positions on either side of the door, in case of an inaccurate sensor reading, and Jeff reached down to lightly tap the door control. He turned into the room phaser first while she remained trained on the corridor for a few seconds until she knew she could back safely into the room.

Once she was far enough inside for the door to close, she looked around the room to find that they were in a small room, about the same size as the locker room but instead of storage lockers, there were two consoles against the wall on either side.

Jeff stepped over to one of the consoles and placed a small interface remote onto the screen, which would bypass the security measures and upload the database to the shuttle’s computer. The device blinked red while it worked.

After a few seconds, the light changed to orange, indicating it had begun sending the information.

 _“Receiving data.”_ Feinmann said in her earpiece.

The upload seemed to take forever while she and Jeff could only stand there and wait, feeling vulnerable in a room with only one exit and no cover.

 _“Sixty-seven percent complete.”_ Feinmann reported.

The tiny hairs on her neck bristled when they heard heavy footsteps outside. She held her breath and tensed for battle as the footsteps grew louder then finally quieter as they passed the door. Jeff let out a breath in sync with hers, but the relief was short-lived.

 _“Whoa! Where did they come from?”_ Feinmann suddenly exclaimed.

“Report.” Jeff said, his still-hushed voice a stark contrast to Feinmann’s exclamation.

 _“Stand by.”_ He said distracted by whatever he was doing out there. A few tense moments passed before he continued, _“Three attack fighters just came out of nowhere. I’m taking evasive maneuvers. I won’t be able to beam you out of there right away.”_

Before he could say anything else, several sets of footsteps thundered through the corridor on the other side of the door. Kee and Jeff prepared for the onslaught.

There was no cover anywhere, so she crouched down where she was to make herself a smaller target. A Valerian came in first, she fired immediately but the shot was disbursed by a personal forcefield around him. She fired again twice, watching for the source.

She finally spotted it, a device on his belt, and focused a long phaser blast directly at it, but by the time it overloaded, he was already too close. He grabbed her wrist and twisted the phaser away from him.

He swung a punch at her but she deflected it with her free arm, taking the opportunity to reach behind his neck and slammed his face down to contact with her knee. Two more, another Valerian and a Kressari, rushed into the room after him while she backed up to give herself space.

The second Valerian went for Jeff while the Kressari took a wide swing at her, but while he was open, she jabbed her hand into this throat and slammed her knee into his chest.

By then, the first Valerian was back on his feet and grabbed her shoulder to turn her around for an attack. As she came around she swung her elbow up into his face then grabbed his collar in her fist and brought her knee up to hit the side of his face.

Turning back to the Kressari, she landed a hard punch in the chest at the same time as he struck her stomach with his knee.

She reeled back to catch her balance and kicked him in the same spot in his chest. She twisted her torso to swung a punch while he was stunned, but the Valerian reached up from the floor and grabbed her arm.

While the Valarian was holding her back, the Kressari recovered and landed a kick directly into her diaphragm. The Valarian followed the movement by slamming her into the decking.

The Kressari swung in for a kick and Kee reached up and pushed the Valarian’s head into the kick instead, knocking him out. The Kressari didn’t hesitate, he grabbed the front of her shirt, lifted her to her feet and slammed her into the bulkhead. She twisted in his grip, but a Lethean showed up from somewhere and reached toward her and placed his hands on either side of her head.

She felt a numb sensation of electricity dancing delicately across her skin while at the same time the inside of her head felt like it was being ripped apart. She tried to pull away, but was paralyzed as her vision distorted and finally blanked out.

* * *

The darkness parted and Kee found herself in the open air with bright sunlight blinding her eyes. She reached up to shade her eyes and began to recognize her surroundings. Bajorans, dirty and emaciated passed by in every direction, rundown shelters draped with tattered rags dotted the space, and behind that, a tall fence patrolled by Cardassians enclosed the area. She gaped at the sudden yet familiar sight of the refugee camp where she grew up.

She looked at the people, trying to understand what was happening. Some of them she recognized. Peemyo, Ferr, Kuri, Trizk, Telahl, Meyd… She called out to them, but they didn’t respond.

“Kuri!” She shouted and ran towards him, but he kept going as though he hadn’t heard her.

She tried again. “Meyd!” She called and stepped right into her path, but she looked through her, bumping right into her without any response like she wasn’t there.

The crowd thickened until she was surrounded by people moving about.

She tried several more times with the same result. It was like she wasn’t there at all.

Then something out of place caught her eye. She turned to look.

What she saw made her blanch and chills ran down her spine.

Nin was standing there. Blood flowed freely from the wound on his neck. His eyes were empty and haunting, just like in her nightmares.

Someone passed by between them and he was gone. Kee struggled to slow her shaking breaths and swallowed hard while the creeping chills continued to crawl across her skin.

What was happening here?

She had to be dreaming. But she didn’t remember going to sleep. And why didn’t she wake up the moment she realized she was dreaming? But if it wasn’t a dream, what was it?

She tried to think back to what she was doing right before she got here. They had downloaded the computer library from the control module. They were discovered. There was a struggle with a Kressari and a Lethean… the Lethean. He must have planted a telepathic virus in her mind.

“You!” Someone shouted and Kee looked up to find herself in the middle of a ring of angry faces. They all glared at her as though accusing her of something.

Her heart pounded as she looked from face to face surrounding her. This was irrational. She shouldn’t be afraid of these people. She knew most of them.

“You,” someone else spoke up and she turned to see Ferr jabbing a finger at her. “You killed us.”

“You’re the reason they give us less food!” Someone else called out.

“You’re the reason we freeze to death in the winter!” Another voice from behind her shouted.

“You’re the reason they slaughter us!”

Kee recoiled from the accusations. She managed to slip out of the jeering crowd and backed toward the open gate. When she passed through it, she turned around to see black smoke pouring out of the forest all over the Jorallan foothills. She was locked inside her mind and this place represented it, she came to understand, and the Lethean was destroying it a piece at a time.

Unsure what she would do, she darted into the forest and ran toward one of the fires. She ran fast. Ducking under branches, vaulting over fallen trees, crashing through underbrush, but she couldn’t reach the fire. Every time she stopped to get her bearings, she wasn’t where she was supposed to be.

She stopped at the crest of a hill to think. If this represented her mind, maybe the sources of the fires would be places that were significant to her. The site of the massacre came to mind first. The night she went from being a young recruit to a trusted partner. The night her childhood was truly over.

She looked around and started in the direction she knew would take her there and took off running again.

She covered ground fast, but even so, she arrived at the destination before she expected to. It should have taken her almost a day at that pace to get there, but it was only minutes.

When she stepped into the clearing where they’d made camp that night and were ambushed, it was empty. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, an active battle, a scene full of dead bodies, a forest fire, but not nothing.

She studied the area, whatever she was looking for, this wasn’t it.

Nin. Maybe it was where Nin had been killed. She took off in that direction. Again, arriving faster than she should have. And, again, finding nothing. She scoured her memory and came up with a few more possibilities, but when she checked, she still came up empty.

Smoke thickened the air and she began coughing. There had to be something central to her existence, someplace where the Lethean would be hiding out where he could cause all of this damage.

Where did it all start?

Where did it _all_ start?

The camp.

That’s where she began to be shaped into what she would become one day. It all started back there.

She turned to head back to the camp and was confronted by a new group of people. Ren, Joial, Oardoli, Ilwea and others. Her mother and brother, too.

 _They’re not real._ She told herself through the pounding of her heart.

They stared silently at her as she moved through the group avoiding eye contact.

“Such a disappointment.” Joial called after her.

“Shameful.” Ren scoffed. “I thought she’d be better.”

_Ouch._

Tears welled in her eyes, but she pressed on.

“I can’t believe you thought you could be one of us.” Oardoli said.

“How could you let them do this to me?” Ilwea accused, showing her his mutilated arms and legs.

Her mother appeared in her path. “I’m so ashamed. You could have been someone better.”

Kee pursed her lips and stepped around her mother.

“Phony!” Edda shouted from behind her.

The Lethean was only using her fears and insecurities to keep her from finding him.

The person who stepped in front of her next made her stop in her tracks.

Traie.

She could only stair at him with a lump in her throat. What would he say?

Unlike the others, he smiled at her with all of the kindness she remembered. He reached out and took her in his arms. She could do nothing to resist as though she were paralyzed.

“Stay with me.” He said softly. “We can have that life we should have had.”

Finally, the tears overflowed and streamed down her cheeks. “You’re not real.” She insisted.

“I’m as real as you want me to be.” With that, he bent down and kissed her. Softly at first, then more firmly as she allowed her body to melt into his.

In that moment, she didn’t care about the real world. She wanted only to stay with him. To feel his lips, his touch forever.

But it wasn’t real, no matter how much she wanted it to be. She had to survive this. To get back into the real world and finish her mission.

Reluctantly she pulled back and removed herself from his embrace. With a heaviness in her heart that she’d only felt from losing him, she turned away.

After she’d taken a few steps from him, he called after her with a viciousness to his voice that she’d never heard in reality. “ _Sli'vak_!” He shouted the Klingon curse at her. “You thought I loved you? How could I possibly?”

That hurt, physically. As though he’d plunged a dagger straight into her heart. But she kept going without looking back.

_Don’t listen. Not real._

Thick smoke rolled in, forcing her to stop. She gasped for air and coughed deeply, uncontrollably. Nearly doubled over in the coughing fit, she pulled her jacked over her mouth and nose to filter out the worst of it. Still choking, she continued onward as fast as she could.

She reached the western gate of the camp faster than she should have, or maybe she just wasn’t perceiving time correctly. The smoke was thinner here, just a slight haze in the air. She turned around to look across the forest and saw that almost all of it was blackened and smoldering. She quickly turned to enter the camp, but she stopped in her tracks at what she saw.

Bodies. Everywhere. All of the people that had been accusing her before lay scattered around. It was as though they had been going about their day, standing in the food line, going to or from a work assignment, trying desperately to make some semblance of a life, and they just dropped dead right where they stood.

Kee stepped carefully around them, searching for any indication of where the Lethean might be hiding. She searched her past for anything that would represent the core of the being, or a catalyst, or… she shook her head… _something_. She wasn’t even sure.

As she moved away from the slaughter, she spotted a group of children doing nothing in particular. Laughing, throwing things at each other, running around, the things that children tended to do when nothing was expected of them. She came closer and recognized herself as a child, her brothers, Hep, Ikis and Nin. Her stomach twisted when she realized what she was seeing.

She started at Kirshd for a long time. This was the last time she’d ever see him. And yet they had no idea. She’d always been closer to him than to Edda. Where Edda was critical and overbearing, Kirshd was sweet and encouraging. He’d been the first on to call her by what would eventually be her permanent nickname. When she’d heard that he’d been killed, she secretly hoped the twins had been mixed up and it was really Edda. Then she hated herself for thinking such a thing.

A group of Cardassian soldiers approached the children who tried to move away and they grabbed four of them at random, hauling them away. _No._ She didn’t want to watch.

“Kee!” She heard Kirshd call out while being held back by the others.

She looked for anyone that could be the Lethean in disguise, but there was no one and soon the group of children and soldiers disappeared.

More distractions. She pressed on. If not this, then what? The smoke began to thicken again, stinging her eyes and burning her throat. She rounded a corner and it was suddenly dusk, curfew was in effect and the street was empty except for one Bajoran man, hurrying home and two Cardassians that had spotted him. They cornered him and began harassing him, but she ignored the scene. She already knew what happened to him. Instead, she looked for a trio of children hiding in the crawlspace under a house across the street.

She moved to the side and found three small, terrified faces peering out. Had they every been that young? Five-year-old Kee and her brothers had stayed out past curfew and witnessed what it meant to be Bajoran under Cardassian rule. She’d felt so small, so weak, so helpless to stop the atrocity.

She turned away from the children directly into the shadow of Glinn Conolo. She looked up at him, way up. He was so huge, she had to crane her neck to see his face. Then she looked down and realized that she was a child herself. Small, weak and helpless. Only, she wasn’t. She summoned the courage she knew she had and looked back up at Conolo as he would have appeared to her when she was five-years-old.

“I am not afraid of you.” She said to him defiantly. “ _I_ killed you!” She shouted, no longer a small child, but stood at her full adult height. “I killed you!”

The image of Conolo distorted and reappeared as the Lethean backlit by the fire that had finally reached their location. “The destruction is almost complete.” He told her calmly. “It’ll be over soon.”

“No!” She shouted and attacked with a kick to his face.

The Lethean turned back to her with no reaction.

She attacked again with a left and right punch and a knee to the stomach in rapid succession, backing up to see the result but he only stared at her.

Finally moving, he swung a punch that connected with the side of her cheek. Pain exploded across her face more like it was a phaser blast than a punch. She found herself on the ground, scrambling to get back to her feet.

He calmly reached down and grabbed the back of her hair, lifted her up and threw her back down into the hard pack. The force sent her tumbling over and over sideways, finally rolling to her feet.

She gathered her strength and let loose a punch that should have crushed his bony cheek, but he only turned slightly to the side.

He reached out with a hand on her chest and slammed her into the fence. She managed to turn enough to swing her elbow up into his jaw, still with no effect.

He smashed his fist into her cheek again, knocking her to the side then grabbed her shoulders, pulled her away from the fence and slammed her back into it again.

She grabbed his wrist off of her shoulder and spun around, twisting his arm so he was forced to double over and kicked his chest while pulling his wrist toward her for leverage.

He only stood up with a hand immediately at her throat, squeezing, cutting of her air. With that grip, he threw her down into the dirt again. She crawled backward away from him, choking and gasping to her feet.

“This is _my_ mind, _I_ control what happens here.” She insisted. “If this is Joralla, it’s supposed to be raining.” The moment she said it, soft rain began to drizzle around them, slowing the progress of the fire. She smiled and thought of how to use this to her advantage. A Breen neural truncheon appeared in her hand and she wrapped her fingers around it.

For the first time, the Lethean looked worried. Kee rushed forward and swung it like a club across his face, crushing his bony eye socket, then jabbed the tip into his chest. The weapon glowed as the Lethean doubled over painfully.

When she withdrew the truncheon from his midsection, he collapsed backward onto the ground still conscious but in pain.

Kee calmly walked over to him and pressed her boot against his chest to keep him down. Her clothes and the ground were nearly soaked now from the rain and drips began to run down her forehead out of her scalp as she looked down at him. “Why here? Why this?” She demanded, indicating the scene that was replaying again and again behind her.

“For the same reason you burry this memory so deep.” He said weakly. “The same reason you dream about it still.”

That was something for later contemplation. Before he could recover, she jammed the truncheon against his neck, under his chin. His back arched as electricity danced across his body. There was just enough water puddling on the ground around them to make a complete circuit between his body and hers. The current surged through her legs painfully, but she continued to press the weapon against him until he finally vanished into nothing, followed by the representation of the burning camp and Bajor until she was left in darkness again.

* * *

After the Lethean had attacked Kee, they’d all ganged up on Jeff and had him immobilized in seconds. The last he heard from Feinmann was static over the comm. He hoped he was still out there somewhere.

Kee and Jeff had been brought down to the surface in one of the mag-lev carriages, which took hours. He could tell she was still alive. For now, at least. Lethean telepathic attacks were usually fatal, invading the mind and breaking it down piece by piece.

On the planet surface, they’d been dumped in an empty storage room in the tether base module. Their wrists were bound then tied to each other so that they sat back to back. They’d also bound his ankles. He figured Kee was being used more as an anchor to restrain him since she was no threat in her condition.

He could just barely feel the movement of her breathing against his back. Soft, shallow breaths that reminded him of the few nights they’d shared years ago where she’d lay sound asleep in his arms. One difference here, though, was that whatever nightmare she was living in there, there was no indication of it out here. From what he’d heard of Lethean attacks, they could be brutal. And if you didn’t get the upper hand quickly, you were done for.

If she could pull through, they might be able to cooperate to manage to stand up and from there make a move. But while stuck in this position, he’d scouted out several possible tools they might be able to use, depending on the type of restraints that had been used.

He especially studied a disabled and partially disassembled console against one wall. If their restraints used a magnetic locking system, they may be able to locate a highly ferromagnetic material from inside the guts of the console that would deflect the magnetic field.

If the locks were high-tech enough, and they could manage to get the casings off, that sharp fragment of duranium over there would make an adequate tool. On the other hand, one wrong move and they might lock down so that the cuffs could only be removed by a laser torch.

If they were old gear-lock cuffs, there was a metal filament he saw nearby that he could bend into the right shape to pick the lock.

If the restraints used a tripartite lock, they were out of luck. But from what he could see of the ones on his ankles, it probably wasn’t those last two.

Jeff’s head snapped sideways, Kee’s steady breathing had suddenly stopped. “Come on, Kee, you can beat this thing.” But the more time stretched on, the less optimistic he felt. After a full minute any hope seemed to be lost.

Kee gasped suddenly and sat up straight. Disoriented, she tried to pull away from him, wrenching his shoulders back.

“Kee. It’s alright. Relax.”

“She leaned back against him again, still breathing hard. “I-” She said haltingly.

“Welcome back.” He said dryly.

He could feel her shake her head to clear it and she squirmed, testing their bonds but finally slouched with resignation.

“Must have been some experience.” He prompted.

“How long?” She said wearily.

“The trip down took about five hours and it’s been at least another hour since then.”

“Plenty of time for you to come up with a plan?”

Jeff could only chuckle, “Maybe about five percent of one.”

“It’s better than nothing.”

“I’m trying to figure out what type of locking mechanism these restraints have.”

She twisted around so that she was almost shoulder-to-shoulder with him. “Let me see those.” She said, nodding toward the pair on his ankles.

“I can’t get a good angle to see them myself.” He explained, grunting a bit as he twisted his body so that his feet were closer to her.

“Hold right there.” She said, leaning as close as she could and studied it for a long time. “I think it’s Kobliad with a Delgorian locking system.”

“Delgorian.” He repeated to himself. That put it into the second category he had been pondering. Not what he’d been hoping for, but at least it wasn’t worse. “There’s a sharp piece of duranium over there. If we can get to it, maybe we can use it as a tool.”

“Okay. Can you get up?”

“I think so.” He said as he attempted to get his legs into position. “Ready?” He prepared, “Push.” They pressed their backs together for leverage while shuffling their legs underneath themselves. Kee did most of the work because her legs weren’t bound like his.

After an awkward amount of grunting, they were on their feet. Then they tottered over to where the duranium fragment sat and began to reverse the process.

“This should be part of Starfleet training.” He said as they clumsily lowered themselves to the floor over the piece.

“It is.” She let out a strained breath. “At least for security officers, anyway.”

“Really?”

“Yep. I spend several weeks tied up in various positions, figuring out how to move or escape.”

Jeff couldn’t stifle a short of laughter. “Now, that’s something I’d pay to see… an entire room full of cadets doing this.” He said as his rear-end touched down on the floor. He groped around with his hands for their makeshift tool, brushing against her fingers a few times.

“I’ve got it.” She said. He could feel her hands move as she turned the piece over. “I can’t get to my own cuffs or reach yours. I’ll have to work on the one connecting them.”

“Understood.” He said and she began twisting and pulling at the restraints to find the right position, causing them to dig painfully into his wrists. “Has Endeavor implemented the new phaser resonance frequency protocols yet?” He asked, mainly to take his mind off of the pain.

“We haven’t received them, but we’re prepared as soon as we do.”

“I could send them to you as soon as we get back.”

“No, no. It’s going to be a pain to reconfigure and test all of the phasers. We’re in no hurry to get started.”

He could feel that she was straining to pry the casing off. It gave way suddenly and his restraints jerked to the side. “Ow!”

“Sorry.” She began working on it again. “Did you hear, Tern just reached the final challenge in the Qa’vak tournament?”

“Tern? I was sure K'tuk would have knocked him out of the competition by now.”

“Didn’t you hear? K’tuk is out with a lacerated medial collateral ligament and won’t compete until next season.”

“I bet he’s not happy about that.” A Klingon losing his position in a Klingon competition due to an injury would not be someone to mess with. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“Yes.” She said irritably. “It just takes longer to do it blind and behind my back _and_ without tripping the lockout.”

“Sorry.” He said. “How’s the baby doing?”

“She’s adorable.” She paused while concentrating on what she was doing. “She’s trying to crawl.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but only backwards so far.” She laughed.

He snickered along with her. He hadn’t known babies did that. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like to put one’s life on the line again and again when there was a child involved. He’d strongly advised her multiple times against the relationship, but when Kee made a decision about something, it was like a Ktarian sandstorm. There’s no stopping it, all you can do is hang on and ride through it.

When she’d first told him about the baby, he was sure she’d want to pull out of SI. She’d certainly earned the right to do that after all they’d been through. But she kept showing up for all of his harebrained missions. So far, at least, she was handling it well.

After a long silence, he said, “It must be hard being so far away from them.”

“It is what it is.” She said noncommittally, but when he didn’t comment, she gave in. “It’s hard missing so much of her life.”

Before he could say more, there was a click and the pressure on his wrists decreased.

“Well, that’s one down.” He commented and scooted closer for her to work on his. He felt her grasp hold of it, searching for the edge of the casing to pry off. The restraints pulled and tugged on his bruised wrists.

They both jumped as the door slammed open.

The form of a Reegrunion stood in the doorway, Vargaan. He stepped inside and toward them. “So, you survived.” He said to Kee. “You conned me.” He nudged her leg with his boot. “I take it there’s some sort of tracking device on me?”

Kee didn’t respond. Didn’t even look up.

“No matter. We have the two of you, the Xepolites have ships out right now searching for your shuttle. And you still owe me what you promised me.” He bent down on one knee and reached behind her as though he would release the restraints to take her with him.

Neither of them moved except for an almost imperceptible shift in Kee’s posture. When Vargaan had leaned in so close he was only centimeters from her face, she lunged toward him, bashing her head against his nose.

He staggered back in pain. Kee leapt to her feet faster than Jeff would have thought possible had he not known her so well. She rammed her shoulder into the Reegrunion’s chest and used what must have been her entire body weight to shove him into the opposite wall.

With Vargaan momentarily dazed, she slammed her knee into his stomach then again up into his jaw. Then she backed up two steps and kicked his chest with a force that made even Jeff flinch. With that, Vargaan dropped to the floor unconscious.

Kee turned and bent down, searching Vargaan’s clothes. For the release control for the restraints, Jeff assumed. After twisting and bending in every position imaginable, she smiled and stood back up. “Got it.” She walked over and knelt down again backwards behind Jeff and passed the control over the center of his restraints.

Relief filled the store muscles in his arms and back when the restraints released and Kee pressed the control into his hands. He turned over and repeated the movement to release her wrists. She sighed with the same feeling he’d had. While he reached down to take care of the restraints on his ankles, he heard her pick up the two they’d just removed and move back to Vargaan.

“Bring that over here, when you have it open.” She suggested.

Finally, he stood up on wobbly legs and brought the third pair of restraints over to her. She took them from Jeff and already had Vargaan’s wrists and ankles bound, so she attached the third pair to the other two so that he was confined to a hogtied position. As she stood up, she plucked the phaser off of his hip and tapped its controls to check the settings before handing it to Jeff. Finally, she grabbed a knife off of his belt as her own weapon.

“Ready?” He asked.

“Always.” She smirked.

* * *

The Xepolite raiders had chased Feinmann out past the fifth planet where he finally lost them in the asteroid belt. His best guess was that they’d tracked him visually since Xepolite sensors weren’t accurate enough to detect the shuttle. Regardless of _how_ they’d spotted him, they had quickly forced him out of transporter range of the rest of his team. Not that the transporter would be of any use, it had been knocked out during the first few seconds of the attack and he wasn’t enough of an engineer to fix it himself.

Once he thought he’d lost them, he continued through the asteroid belt for a while longer to be sure, then swung back around to return to the second planet. He kept one eye on the controls and one on the active sensor sweeps, looking out for more ships. If they were locating him visually the chances of them spotting him out here were slim, but the closer he got, the easier it would be.

With the number of hours he’d logged in the Gyges, this shuttle fit like a glove and he piloted an elegant flightpath back to the second planet using rogue asteroids, moons and pieces of space debris to obscure his visual profile.

He approached the opposite side of the planet from the orbital worksite. He would be most vulnerable after leaving the cover of the moons and before he was low enough in the atmosphere to be lost among the landscape.

He pushed the ship to the limits of safety as he sped straight down through the atmosphere. The shields glowed from the friction of the gasses until he came within five kilometers of the ground where he cut back on the thrusters and veered off on the horizontal.

He punched the throttle again as he skimmed just above forests, deserts, oceans and every other landscape this planet had, to circumnavigate the globe. He only hoped the others were still alive when he got to them.

* * *

Disruptor blasts screamed over Kee’s head. She returned fire back down the way they’d come as she and Jeff navigated through the maze of corridors. Her head pounded from her encounter with the Lethean and the constant roar of gunfire wasn’t helping the matter. She would push through it, though, as always.

They moved through the corridor, Jeff facing forward and her facing back with their backs pressed against each other so they couldn’t be separated. At such tight contact, they had to keep their movements closely synchronized or they’d trip each other.

They approached an intersection cautiously but quickly enough to stay ahead of the pursuers on their tail. Kee swung the phaser in her right hand out to cover the corridor to that side while continually firing behind them with the one in her left.

Between the two of them, they’d acquired three more phasers and a couple of extra power cells, which was a good thing because when she checked the level of the phaser in her left hand, it was nearly empty.

Once they’d passed the intersection, she fired an intense volley back with both phasers then took a moment to swap out the dead power cell. She ejected it and clicked the new one into place in about two seconds with a movement she’d performed thousands of times.

“The exit should be just around the next bend.” Jeff said over the noise.

It seemed as though there were at least four of them back there still, besides the three she’d taken out, plus the two on the floor they passed that Jeff had taken care of. She felt him slow his pace.

“Do you hear that?” He asked.

She couldn’t hear anything over the sound of weapons’ fire. “What?”

He hesitated, “Up ahead!” He suddenly shouted and threw them both against the bulkhead, narrowly dodging three parallel phaser blasts, followed by a steady barrage from ahead.

Keeping up the steady cover fire behind them, Kee used her second phaser to join Jeff in firing blindly forward down the corridor, but they were pinned down. She glanced around them for ventilation grids or maintenance access points but found no way out.

She searched for options. Her eyes landed on the last power cell tucked in her belt and she remembered something. She dropped down to her knees, “Cover me.” She said to Jeff who automatically reached over her head with one of his phasers.

“What are you doing?” He asked as she tucked her phasers into the back of her belt and pulled out the power cell.

“Something somebody showed me once a long time ago.” By then she’d already removed the casing, pulled out the knife and began digging around inside the guts of the power cell. “These are Valerian phasers,” she said as she worked. “The Valerians supplied weapon components to the Cardassians during the Occupation.” She turned over the power cell in her hand to try a different angle. “It stands to reason the power cells would be of a similar design with similar weaknesses.”

“Are you sure you should be messing with the safety components?” He said, steeling a glance down at her.

It was harder than it looked when Oardoli did it that one time, but finally she was able to wedge the tip of the knife under the edge of the part and it popped out onto the floor. Without giving it an opportunity to electrocute her, she chucked it toward the accumulating group of enemies up ahead.

Jeff ducked away, most likely expecting an explosion, but instead there was only the clatter of the power cell hitting the floor followed by the sound of an electrical discharge as the power arced to their pursuers’ weapons. No boot soles in the quadrant could insulate someone from such a powerful flow of energy.

The moment the sissing of electricity died down, she counted five bodies hit the floor. The group behind them, stunned for a moment by the strange sounds, resumed firing and Kee and Jeff took the chance and made a break for the exit.

They charged forward through the aftermath of what she’d done. Bodies laid motionless where they’d dropped. A strangely delicate branching pattern had been burned into the walls of the corridor. And the smell of burning flesh… _that_ smell that made her stomach twist ever since… _There is no time for that_. She scolded herself, refocusing on the present.

The exit was just ahead. The doors didn’t open for them automatically, they had to stop to press a button, but it wasn’t locked and the doors began to slide back slowly.

Together they turned with their backs to the door and fired at their pursuers to hold them back long enough.

The moment the doors were far enough open, Kee slipped through, then reached back to lay down cover fire for Jeff. Once he was through, they bolted away from the building. Phaser blasts from above and behind pounded the ground around them, kicking up a dust cloud. There must have been weapons mounted on the exterior of the building.

Just as Kee was turning around to fire at the weapon mounts, flashes of phaser fire sailed over their heads from up ahead. She turned back, ready to meet yet another group of opponents to find that it was Jeff’s shuttle with Feinmann at the helm, hovering about a meter above the ground.

Feinmann fired back toward the building and she heard two small, distinct explosions as the weapon mounts ceased firing. She and Jeff ran towards the shuttle’s open rear hatch. Jeff boosted Kee up through the hatch and she reached back to help him in then smacked the control panel to close it with the landscape already blurring as Feinmann sped away.

Kee rushed to the forward part of the ship and dropped into the copilot seat, calling up the tactical interface. “We have two ships lifting off from the surface and three more approaching from orbit.” She warned him.

“Got it.” Feinmann said.

In her periphery, she could see Jeff settle in at one of the auxiliary consoles off to the side. She aimed phasers at the two coming up from the surface, which were more vulnerable than the three above. “Firing phasers.” She said as she blasted one, then the other. One kept coming but the other set back down hard, but not hard enough to be called a crash.

“Sure am glad not to have to do that while also flying the ship.” Feinmann commented.

“Glad I’m good for something.”

As soon as they were out of the atmosphere, Feinmann hit the impulse engines and they shot away from the planet with all four ships close behind. Kee did what she could with the weapons to hold them back while Feinmann listed the evasive patters he was using to give her a heads-up so she could predict his movements while targeting.

The ship rocked each time the pursuing ships landed a hit, which was just about as often as she managed to.

“Does he always do that?” Feinmann nodded in Jeff’s direction. “Calmly go back and do research in the middle of battle?”

Kee stole a glance toward him. “Yeah, actually, he does.” She managed a small shrug, “He’ll go repair stuff if we need him to.” She said dismissively.

Feinmann chuckled lightly without his eyes leaving the controls. “Entering the asteroid belt.” He reported. “This is where I lost them before.”

The importance of Kee’s job diminished significantly once they entered. The asteroids and erratic flight patterns to avoid them made the targeting sensors nearly useless.

That’s not to say that she could sit back and relax, though. On the contrary, she sat at the edge of her seat gripping the lip of the console. Feinmann zipped between the asteroids so close and so fast that she found herself holding her breath.

“Calm down.” He said steadily, “Let me do the driving.” Just as he said it, a chunk of rock grazed their shields. “See? It’s fine.”

She turned her attention to the pursuit ships. Two had followed them into the belt but had fallen behind, apparently nowhere near as reckless as Feinmann. The other two were licking their wounds and waiting outside.

When she was reasonably certain he had the matter under control, she stood and went back to where Jeff was working.

“We got about eighty-three percent of their database.” He told her without her asking.

“Enough to tell what they’re up to?”

“See for yourself.” He said, stepping out of the way.

She moved forward and skimmed several records he had set aside. There were references to magnetometric guided torpedoes, interspatial regenerating charges, modified nanoprobe dispersion, transwarp coils… It looked as though they were reverse-engineering Borg technology. She read through the portion regarding modified nanoprobes in more detail. Nanoprobes were being extracted from dead drones aboard the wreckage and sent to another facility to be recoded to dissolve biomatter instead of assimilate it. They had come upon the development of a massive weapon. “If they’re successful…”

“… between the nanoprobes and transwarp they could launch a devastating attack anywhere in the Federation of its allies’ territories.”

“The Kobliad and Xepolites have already been extremely vocal opponents of the cooperation between the Federation, Klingons, Romulans and Cardassians. Since the others are working alongside them, it’s safe to assume they’re in agreement.”

“And then there’s the Breen.”

“Do you think they could be involved?”

“I don’t think an operation like this could be going on in their space without their knowledge. It could be that they’re happy to let these minor powers take on the big guys. If they succeed, they’ll point out that they were friendly now, if they fail, they can claim ignorance. And in either case, they haven’t violated the terms of their surrender as former members of the Dominion.”

“Smart.”

“We’re in the clear.” Feinmann called from the conn.

“Maintain position for now.” Jeff told him.

“So, what we’re saying is that the safety of all of the Alpha and Beta quadrants is at stake.” Kee sighed, “Do the other SI teams have to deal with these all the time? Or is it just us?”

He shrugged, “That information is classified.”

“Comforting.” She said sarcastically as she nudged his shoulder with her fist.

“The question is, what are _we_ going to do about it?”

“Borg usually self-destruct their ships when they’re critically damaged rather than allow them to be salvaged. Correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Is there enough of the ship left to trigger that process?”

Jeff called up the sensor readings while making a noncommittal sound. “Typically, the self-destruct method used by the Borg is to force the ship's power grid to feed back on itself.” He said absently as he studied the readings, “I doubt there’s enough of the power grid left to do that.” Finally, he shook his head, “And it’s completely powered down anyway.”

“Without active shielding, atmospheric entry would burn up any salvageable components, but I doubt we have anywhere near enough mass to push it out of orbit ourselves.”

“Right, but… orbital tethers are notoriously tricky to keep in perfect alignment. They need constant adjustments or the orbit will degrade and because of that they have an intricate array of maneuvering thrusters.”

“Are you thinking about something involving explosives?” She said with a smirk.

“I have a brand-new case of thermolyte charges.” He nodded toward the back of the shuttle.

Kee let out a snort of laughter, “You sound like Feinmann did when he first got his hands on the Gyges.”

“Feinmann, find us a safe way back to that salvage operation.” Jeff called out.

“Yes, sir.”

Kee had to stifle another laugh, she hadn’t heard anybody call him ‘sir’ in a _long_ time.

* * *

The Xepolite blockade spread across Kee’s display in a nearly spherical formation around the Borg ship. Feinmann had stopped and held position just outside their visual range.

“Any ideas?” she asked him.

“I’m working on it.” He turned to her and Jeff, who was standing next to her. “Is this ship equipped with duotronic pulse resonators like the Gyges?”

“Yes.” Jeff said.

“And the same shielded diboridum conduits?”

“Yes.”

“If we can strip some of the diboridium off of the conduits and add it to a torpedo payload, we could use the pulse resonators-”

“-to project an image of the shuttle onto the diboridium!” Jeff said excitedly.

She couldn’t follow the engineering of the plan, but tactically it made sense to project a decoy ship that would draw some of the Xepolite ships out of position.

“It wouldn’t give off any sensor data, but neither do we.” Feinmann said.

“Kee and I will work on the modifications. You find a weak point where we can pull off one or two of their ships and sneak through.”

* * *

“Bringing duotronic pulse resonators online now.” Jeff said.

They’d deployed the torpedo with the modified payload and programmed it for a low-yield blast. Kee monitored the explosion that barely registered on sensors, but it would spread the diboridium particles into something like a projector screen. At least that’s what she gathered from Jeff and Feinmann’s techno-speak.

“Projecting an image of the shuttle.” Jeff continued.

Kee watched the two raiders that they hoped to fool into moving out of position. After a few seconds of hesitation, they took the bait. “Both targets are moving to investigate.”

“As soon as they’re clear, move us through.” He told Feinmann.

Feinmann did as ordered and began edging the shuttle through the gap. The three held their breaths collectively as though that could somehow make them more invisible.

Her panel beeped at her urgently. “Target two is swinging back around.” She reported. “They’ll be back in visual range in three seconds.”

“Punch it.” Jeff told Feinmann, but he’d already accelerated to the maximum in-system speed.

“They’ve spotted us. Three more are pulling out of position and are heading right toward us.” She said.

With no way to get back to a place where they could lose them, they could only turn and fight. The first one opened fire as soon as they were in range, but Kee blasted them hard with the shuttle’s weapons until it veered off, listing sideways.

The group of three came on them fast and surrounded them like a pack of piranhas, blasting them from every side.

The tactic confused their sensors and Kee struggled to get a target lock on any one of them. Damaged systems sparked and popped above and behind them.

Feinmann finally found an opening and punched through at maximum sub-light speed.

The three fighters followed right on their tail, spread out in a triangle formation. Weapons systems finally acquired a target lock and she shot two with torpedoes and one with phasers. The direct hits didn’t slow them down at all, instead they returned fire simultaneously from their three distinct vectors.

“Sheilds are down.” She reported.

The shuttle shook, something somewhere in the rear blew out and acrid smoke billowed forward. Kee and Feinmann coughed collectively while focusing on their tasks. Kee stole a glance behind to see Jeff’s legs sticking out of a maintenance access hatch.

Another volley of weapons fire came at them from the three attackers, shaking the shuttle so hard she had to hook her feet around the base of her seat. Her panel flickered and went dark.

“Command system are disrupted!” Kee called back to Jeff.

“I’m on it.”

It took agonizing seconds for the controls to unlock, meanwhile, the raiders maintained their attack, taking turns pounding them with phasers. With weapons back online, she returned fire, but system after system continued shutting down. Ionic polarity units, magnesite-nitron injection relays, tetracyanite terminal emitters, the list scrolled past on the side of her panel. “How about shields?” She asked.

“Two minutes.”

“We don’t _have_ two minutes.” She warned him. She was not exaggerating and neither was he. “They’re targeting our navigational array.”

“I see it.” Feinmann said as he rolled the ship over in space to protect the vial system, but it wasn’t enough. The attacking ships followed his maneuver and pounded the array with everything they had. With thirty seconds left on Jeff’s two-minute estimate, they punched through the shuttle’s armored plating and blasted the navigational array. The explosion sent a feedback pulse through the power system. Sparks and smoke filled the cabin as relays blew in sequence.

The controls went blank and, without navigation, the shuttle spun out of control straight for the Borg ship. The scale of the massive structure became apparent as it grew larger in the viewscreen.

“Brace for impact!” Feinmann called to Jeff.

Kee ducked down and wrapped her arms around her head moments before the first impact. The console slammed hard into her ribcage as the shuttle collided sidelong against the Borg ship and scaffolding.

She heard the others similarly thrown around, then they tumbled free in space before a second hit knocked her out of her chair. This time when their inertia continued to carry them along, she felt the artificial gravity release its hold and she floated free for a fraction of a second. Then the third and final impact sent her tumbling forward into the bulkhead.

She must have blacked out for a few seconds because she awoke to a ringing alarm and the sensation of weightlessness. She blinked in the darkness, trying to clear her head. Both forward panels were offline. So, where was that alarm coming from?

It took her a moment to realize that the sound was in her head. She must have hit it during the crash.

With the feeling of something trickling down the side of her forehead, she started searching for the others.

A moment of groping blindly in the dark and her elbow brushed against something. She reached out and grasped Feinmann’s shoulder. She shook him gently. “Feinmann.” She prompted. “Oscar.”

When he didn’t respond, she reached around the front of him to turn him toward her. As she reached across his body, her hand touched something hard and sharp where it shouldn’t have been and her hand drew back reflexively.

She reached out to investigate, finding the sharp object again and tracing it down to a wet place in his chest. She swallowed hard and found the side of his neck to feel for a pulse. She was relieved to find none. If he’d still been alive, he wouldn’t be for long.

Through the viewscreen, she saw one of the attacking ships arcing around for another pass. She pushed away from the body towards the rear, not optimistic about what she would find. She shoved aside crates that were floating in the weightlessness, searching for her partner.

“Jeff?” She called. “Jeff!”

The only sound in response was a tight whistling sound. The telltale sign of microfractures in the hull.

Finally, she heard another noise, a soft groan. She narrowed in on the sound to find him dazed and groggy, but alive.

“Jeff.” She shook him gently. “I need you to wake up. Feinmann’s dead, the air is leaking out and the Xepolites are coming around for another pass.”

He looked up and blinked at her in the dim light, beginning to focus.

She pulled herself to the wall where three EV suits hung and yanked two of them down. They were technically Starfleet design, but any identification that would reveal their origins had been removed or modified.

By the time she returned, Jeff was fully awake and took one from her. Thanks to their many hours of training, they assembled the suits around themselves in a matter of seconds. They checked each other’s seals and headed for the emergency hatch.

“Wait.” He said and clicked on his wrist light, shining it around at the crates before selecting one. “The thermolyte charges.” He explained.

Kee unlatched the hatch and pushed it open, then looked back to see him guiding the crate of explosives towards her. She pulled the safety line out of the waist of her suit and latched it to the crate’s handle. Jeff repeated the action, latching his tether to a loop on her suit.

The first Xepolite raider swung in, strafing the ship with rapid-fire phasers. Kee focused on getting out the hatch with her bulky suit, not on the already unstable warp core and disabled support systems.

 _“Another pass like that and the warp core’s gonna blow.”_ He said through the suits’ comm as he pushed the crate through the hatch after her.

Her gravity boots automatically attached to the hull as she pulled the crate free and out of his way and she briefly caught site of the second raider coming in. “Here they come.” She warned.

Without checking to see if she was correct, he braced his feet against the hull and together they shoved away from the doomed shuttle and into the emptiness between them and the scaffolding.

No sound carried in space, only the eerie sound of their breathing broke the silence. The readout in her helmet indicated weapons’ fire behind them just as they reached a section of scaffolding. Preparing for an explosion, they hunkered down behind the sturdiest piece of the structure they could find.

Her readout warned of a warp core breach in progress a moment before a white light lit up the area. The following shockwave knocked the scaffolding loose and Kee felt herself falling through space toward the Borg ship. She grasped at the wreckage for a handhold but the bulky gloves made her grip clumsy and she missed every time.

Jeff grabbed for her elbow with one hand and she saw that his other arm was hooked around a piece of support structure, but his grip on her slipped off and she tumbled away a few meters before lurching to a stop when the safety tether snapped tight. The hard jerk knocked the air out of her lungs for a moment, then the crate of explosives reached the end of its tether and it too snapped tight with a jerk.

She swayed back and forth on the line a few times before she could reach a piece of the wreckage and pull herself in. Leaving the crate to dangle loose, she and Jeff climbed hand over hand toward each other.

_“You okay?”_

“Yeah, you?”

 _“Yeah.”_ When he came close enough to see his face, she saw a deep bruise just on the edge of his hairline. Probably what had knocked him out, but there was no way to treat it right now.

Hooking an arm and leg around a handhold, he pulled a tricorder out of a receptacle on his suit. He scanned above, below and behind them and tapped out a few commands while she waited. Finally, he turned it toward her to show her a representation of the Borg ship with a dozen dots indicating locations for their explosives.

_“We each take half and meet on top of the upper control module when we’re done.”_

“Do you have a plan for getting away after that?”

_“Plan B.”_

“Would that be the ‘come up with Plan B’ type of Plan B?”

 _“Yep.”_ He said as he poked the button on her suit to reel in the tether.

After stashing the charges into a couple of carryalls and tucking the empty crate away, he unclipped his tether from her waist and they separated to do their jobs.

* * *

Kee climbed casually across the scaffolding, trying to avoid interacting with the workers without looking like that was what she was doing. Fortunately, they were all busy enough with their jobs that they were just as happy to ignore her. She avoided thinking about the fact that most, if not all, of these workers were going to die either from the explosions or when they got pulled down into the atmosphere with the wreckage.

When did she get like this? She wondered. She had bombed countless facilities and worksites without a second thought when she was in the Resistance. Starfleet must really have been rubbing off on her.

She placed the last charge into the back of a maintenance access point. She imagined the sound of the device magnetically attaching itself to the wall and she activated it. Her breath clouded the inside of her visor not for the first time as she closed the locker and began to move away.

 _“Still with me?”_ Jeff asked.

“I’m not floating away in space.” She said sarcastically. “I placed the last charge and am making my way to the control module.”

_“Same here.”_

She began to made her way to the meeting place.

_“So, we covered the Qa’vak tournament. What about springball? Where are they?”_

“They’re still in the early season matches. Jeersa’s the current favorite for the year.”

_“Jeersa. Is she the one from Rakantha?”_

Kee snorted a laugh, “No. She’s from Musilla.”

_“What’s so funny about that?”_

“Oh… you’ve probably never heard her speak without the universal translator.” She paused while she stepped across to a different section of scaffolding. “If you’d heard her native dialect, you’d never think she’s from Rakantha. It’s like mixing up a Russian accent with a North American southern drawl.”

 _“My apologies.”_ He said, chuckling. _“Speaking of languages. How’s your Vulcan coming along?”_

“Fine. It’s a difficult language.”

_“How so?”_

“It’s not difficult in the way other languages are where you have linguistic rules then as many words that break the rules as follow them. Vulcan is extremely strict as far as following its rules.”

_“Not surprising.”_

“The difficulty comes in the subtlety. The slightest variation in tone or inflection can change the entire meaning of a word.”

_“That’s also not surprising.”_

“No, it’s not. But it makes it difficult. I was surprised, though, to find a number of curses.” She said, breathing hard now from the trek.

_“Curses? In Vulcan?”_

“Yeah. But as far as I can tell, they all mean ‘illogical’.”

She reached the destination to find he was already there, laughing.

He scanned below them with his tricorder. _“Mag-lev carriage number two is docked, no lifesigns.”_

She followed him to the edge of the module where the mag-lev carriage sat docked and together they slid a pair of hatchway doors open, floated inside and dropped to the floor as the artificial gravity took hold of them. After working for hours in zero-g, it took a moment for her balance to stabilize.

Once they had the hatch closed, the interior automatically pressurized. As soon as her display indicated it was safe, she unlatched her helmet and gloves and pulled them all off. Finally, she ran her fingers through her hair to satisfy an itch than had been driving her crazy.

Jeff was already at the controls, initiating the undocking procedure.

“How long does this thing take to get to the surface.”

“Last time it was five hours.”

“‘Five hours’? Are you crazy?”

“I’m betting that wasn’t the maximum speed. Hopefully we can get down faster if we bypass the safeties.”

“Even if you can cut that time in half, we can’t wait that long to detonate. And as soon as we blow the thing, that tether is going to go slack and this thing will fall out of control.”

“There’s an emergency detach sequence and we should be able to slow the descent with maneuvering thrusters enough to… you know… not be crushed on impact.” He said the last part like a Ferengi reciting fine print.

“Oh, okay. That sounds much better.” She scoffed as the carriage lurched into its descent.

“Accelerating to maximum.” He said as her stomach corroborated the statement.

“Woo, it’s like being on a roller coaster.” He commented.

“I will never understand Humans’ desire to intentionally terrify themselves.”

“I don’t know. It’s fun.”

She gave him a sideways look but let the matter drop and they rode in silence, gradually shedding the rest of their EV suits. She hated waiting so long to detonate bombs. Every minute delay was another minute that they could be found and disarmed.

“When we get to this point,” Jeff said, showing her a diagram of the tether and carriage, “we’ll be low enough to use the maneuvering thrusters to land safely.”

Kee found an active console to monitor their progress. Just before they reached the point he’d indicated, Jeff tossed her the remote activation control for the bombs and she prepared to hit the switch while he called up the emergency detach command.

The moment they reached the detonation point, she hit the switch, praying that they explosives hadn’t been found. The carriage lurched downward when the blasts began to push the Borg ship, scaffolding assembly and upper control module out of orbit. She waited for the carriage to detach from the tether but instead it heaved to the side.

“What’s wrong?”

“The emergency procedure’s not working. The bracket assembly must be jammed.” He moved away from the console to a maintenance panel on the back wall. “Take over on thrusters. Try to keep us level.”

She transferred controls over to her console and fought against the crumbling tether as it pushed and tipped them off to one side, then the other. With the extra weight, the thrusters did nothing to slow their freefall.

Something heavy and large slammed into the roof of the carriage with a bang, adding inertia to their already out of control descent. The weight of the object destabilized the delicate balance she’d achieved with the thrusters and the carriage veered sideways.

“Can you hold us steady?!” Jeff shouted over the howl of the thrusters.

“Doing my best.”

“Try the release again.”

She risked reaching away from the thruster controls to jab the emergency release. This time she felt a gentle sway as the carriage drifted freely away from the tether. She blasted the thrusters with everything they had as they neared the surface.

“I don’t know if we’ll be able to slow this thing enough before we hit.”

He stepped back to the console. “I’m transferring all power to the thrusters.”

“That helped, but I don’t know if it’s enough.”

When they reached the five-kilometer mark, he said, “Lay down on the floor and cradle your head.”

She dropped to the floor and did as he said. She laid down flat on her back and wrapped her arms around the back of her head.

Seconds ticked by and she began to wonder when the impact would come. Then it did. A wave of kinetic energy slammed through her body. The roof of the carriage collapsed as the walls accordioned. Once it had passed, she gasped to restore air into her lungs. Her arms hurt but that was better than her head.

When she finally caught her breath, she rolled over to see Jeff doing the same. With the sound of debris hitting the ground all around them, they pushed themselves off of the floor and ran for the exit.

Once they made it outside, they searched for an escape. Jeff pointed to a row of three Xepolite raiders, and they dashed side by side toward them.

Out of the chaos, a gang of Xepolites and Reegrunions circled around them with phaser rifles drawn. The one in charge shouted something at them, but his voice was lost among the noise.

Kee stopped and raised her weaponless hands and exchanged a glance with Jeff. He didn’t have a play either.

The Prophets must have been with them, because a massive fireball of debris crashed down, crushing the tether base module they had just vacated. A wave of heat and debris blasted them and knocked them all flat on the ground. When they picked themselves back up, a dark shadow passed over them. She looked up to see the bulk of the Borg ship had blocked out the sun as it plummeted toward the surface in a fiery mass.

All thought of hostility vanished and every one of them ran together to claim the three ships.

Kee and Jeff dashed at full speed into one of them just as the rear ramp was closing and the ship lifted off.

The ship’s co-pilot rushed back to take them on. Kee stepped up to meet him and Jeff continued forward to the cockpit.

She swung her arm up to block his first strike and connected right on a bruise from… she wasn’t sure where in the day’s events she’d gotten it. Instead of pondering that, she slammed her knee into the Xepolite’s stomach.

In her periphery, she saw Jeff knocked to the floor and the pilot came after her. Instead of waiting for him, she went on the offensive and swung a punch that connected with his jaw.

While she prepared another strike, she felt a hand grab her arm from behind and spun her around. A sharp pain blossomed in her abdomen and she looked down to find a knife buried into her body.

Stunned, she gaped at her attacker who only sneered and yanked the knife back.

Strength fled from her legs and she dropped to her knees, then to one hand with the other pressed against her wound in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding.

From her position, she could see that Jeff was not where he had fallen. She couldn’t see him anywhere.

Her vision narrowed to a small space in front of her. She vaguely heard a phaser blast and one of the Xepolites hit the floor nearby.

A pool of dark blood spread out on the deck under her. _That’s a lot of blood._ She thought as darkness closed around her and she felt herself fall.

* * *

Kee awoke to bright white light, and a distinctly Federation room resolved around her. She turned her head to see a padd on the table beside her displaying her vitals. Her hand automatically went to her stomach to find the wound healed.

Someone stepped forward and she looked up to see that it was Jeff.

“What happened?” She asked weakly.

“One of the Xepolites had a knife-”

She waved her hand feebly at him, “I remember that part. How’d you get us out of there?”

“Oh… I got a hold of a phaser when they thought I was unconscious.”

“Where are we?”

“This is a medical safe house that SI maintains. This,” he indicated a man at the foot of the bed, “is Lieutenant Fasone. He’s the medic that’s taking care of you.”

She tried to sit up, but Jeff held her down. “Take it easy, you lost nearly two liters of blood.”

She wasn’t about to argue, even that small movement sent her head spinning.

He held up an isoliniar chip with a heavy expression on his face, “The cover story for Feinmann.”

She took the chip from him and turned it over in her hand. There was nothing that could be said. He’d trusted them, held up his end of the mission and died because of it.

Finally, she wrapped her fingers around the chip as though it was a piece of him. “I assume you’re heading out.”

He nodded slowly, “I’m going to track down wherever those nanoprobes are being sent.”

“And contact me as soon as you have a lead?”

“Of course.” He said with a smirk. “Take care of yourself until then.” He brushed the back of his fingers against her arm then turned and left without another word.

Kee sighed, squeezing the isoliniar ship in her hand.

Fasone walked quietly to the side of her bed and picked up the padd to check the readings. She waited for him to speak, but he didn’t.

“What? No scolding for taking unnecessary risks?” She teased.

“Nope.” He said matter-of-factly.

She looked up at him for any hint of sarcasm and felt a smirk creep onto her face as she nodded appreciatively.


	8. One, he abandoned us, or two, he was abducted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year: 2382

Kee beamed directly into her dark quarters from Jeff’s shuttle in the middle of Endeavor’s night shift. His newest trick was to merge their warp field with that of Endeavor without being detected, allowing her to be transported over while at warp.

She craned her neck to each side to stretch her sore shoulders. The last thirty-six hours had been exhausting and she wanted nothing more than to just crawl into bed and sleep for a couple of days. Considering the ship was traveling at warp nine, she didn’t hold out much hope that tomorrow would be a lazy day, and even if it was, since her promotion to chief of security, she rarely had the luxury of time off anyway.

Instead of going straight to bed, though, she slipped her boots off and padded over to Iliah’s bedroom to peek in at her sleeping daughter. The three-year-old was nearly lost among the jumble of blankets. When she finally found her, she had her stuffed bunny snagged in the crook of one arm, one hand was under her head and the other hand clutched at the upturned side of her face like she was giving herself a Vulcan mind meld. Her dark hair, still with its baby curls, lay disheveled all around her.

Kee smiled to herself and backed out of the room silently, continuing on to her bedroom. In the dark, she stripped off her clothes down to her undergarments, too tired to do any more than that and slipped into bed beside Loren. He was facing away from her with T’Puss curled up on the other side and she sidled up against his back, taking care to keep her cold hands off of his bare skin.

Despite her efforts not to wake him, he breathed in deeply and turned toward her. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She reached over for a soft kiss. “Why are we traveling at warp nine?”

“There was a distress call from a research facility in the Epsilon Librae system.” He said groggily while glancing at the chronometer. “We should be there in about three hours.”

Epsilon Librae was on the far edge of Federation space. She wondered what sort of a research facility would be way out there.

She considered dragging herself back out of bed to go down to the security office and get briefed on the situation but decided that a couple of hours of sleep would be more beneficial. Especially if it turned out to be another long night tomorrow.

* * *

Kee materialized with her team in the underground research facility and immediately ducked down low, raising her phaser rifle. When she had been briefed that morning, she learned a group of Nausicaan pirates had attacked the secret Federation outpost that was buried deep in a dead planetoid on the outer edge of the system. They’d detected a crashed Nausicaan ship on the planet’s surface that had probably been shot down by the outpost’s ground-based weapons.

The marauders had overwhelmed the Starfleet security team stationed there, as evidenced by the six black-booted bodies lined up parallel and covered by a sheet at the far wall. They had then penetrated to the lowest levels and drove the science team up to the top level.

Disrupter fire screamed over her head as she moved closer to where the scientists were taking cover behind a guardrail in the facility’s vestibule. They’d been holding this position for at least two days since Endeavor had picked up their distress call. She took up a position to the right of one of the scientists, a grey-haired Bajoran man, and fired a few shots at the Nausicaans. “Get back there to the beam-out point, we’ll cover you.” She said to him, indicating the pattern enhancers her team was setting up behind them.

“No, we can’t leave the core.” He argued.

Before she could respond to the contrary, a small, metal object dropped onto the floor next to them. “Cover!” She shouted to her team as she pushed the man away from the grenade and onto the floor. The blast shook the floor beneath them with a simultaneous wave of heat and tiny bits of shrapnel.

When she looked up she could see Lieutenant Streck and Ensign Rosten helping the scientists up and toward the beam-out location while Ensigns Makgotla and Kimura covered them. She could barely hear her own voice calling out commands to her people, unsure if they were obeying her or were just following standard evac procedure. With weapons fire still blazing overhead she ushered the man she’d knocked to the floor over to be beamed out. Just before dematerializing, she saw two more grenades hit the floor.

* * *

After waiting while Maggie tended to the abrasions on her hands from the grenade shrapnel, Kee joined the group that was being briefed on the condition of the four scientists. One of them had been badly injured at some point prior to their arrival and required emergency surgery. She remained on the main surgical bio-bed under heavy observation. The other three lay unconscious on the other bio-beds. The rest of her security team were still standing around waiting to be treated for their minor injuries.

“… I have them sedated for now while I treat them for malnutrition, dehydration and fatigue from being under siege for over two days. But I expect them to make a full recovery.” Doctor Evans concluded.

“Thank you, Doctor.” Captain Russel said, turning to Kee, “You said one of them said something about not leaving the ‘core’?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What do we know about the research they were conducting here?” She asked Commander Hawkins.

“Not much. Only that it’s some kind of classified research and development project.”

“Whatever this ‘core’ is, I’m not going to leave it in the hands of Nausicaan pirates.” Russel said. “Doctor, how long until we can talk to the scientists?”

“I was planning on keeping them under for a couple of hours.”

“Alright, inform me before you wake them. We’ll be in my ready room trying to dig up _something_ that will tell us what they were working on here.” She turned and left with her first officer following behind her.

Kee was about to follow when Evans stopped her, “I’d like to speak to you for a moment.” With that he walked into his office.

“Streck, keep me updated when you get back to the security office.” Kee said, putting the officer that used to be her superior in charge and followed Evans with Maggie joining them a moment later.

“Is there a problem?” Kee asked.

“Not a problem, just some… interesting information.” He looked cryptically at Maggie.

“We were pulling up the medical histories of the scientists before treating them.” Maggie began. “Most of them were pretty typical, but when I pulled the records for Roner Penow they were incomplete. After a certain date the records are normal, but before that… it’s like he just popped into existence.”

“That shouldn’t be terribly out of the ordinary for a Bajoran. Many of us have no medical records before the Withdrawal.”

“I thought that too at first, but his _begin_ ten years before the Withdrawal, in 2359.”

Kee’s brow furrowed, the possibility he was some kind of Cardassian agent crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it, they wouldn’t have been so careless with his records. “Someone who made it out, then?”

“Exactly. But I did a little more digging and there is no mention _at all_ of a Roner Penow in either Bajoran or Cardassian records within the last two-hundred years. So then I ran a DNA comparison against both of those databases and got a hit… for a prison inmate in 2359.” She took a breath, hesitating, “But to confirm, I also ran a familial comparison to Starfleet records…”

“Starfleet records? Maggie, what are you getting at?” She said, starting to get frustrated with her friend.

“Kee… Roner Penow is Norvish Falam. He’s your father.”

Kee had to run Maggie’s statement through her mind several times before the meaning dawned on her. She turned to look at him through the glass, resting unconscious on a bio-bed. She’d looked directly at him, spoken to him and hadn’t recognized him, this couldn’t be right. “It’s not possible.”

“Kee, I ran the comparisons numerous times, took multiple DNA samples. He’s a positive paternal match for you. It’s him.”

She stared at him for a long time, trying to fit the pieces together. He’d been on Bajor, he was arrested in 2359 for supposedly passing information to the resistance and died while in custody. Then appeared inside Federation space out of nowhere with a false identity. He never died in prison, he _left_ them.

Doctor Evans was suddenly at her side, “It’ll be a few hours before you can speak to him. Go, take some time to deal with this news and I’ll let you know before I wake them.”

“Thank you.” She said softly to both of them and left feeling numb.

* * *

Loren stepped through the doors to the ship’s gym, certain he’d find Kee here. Sure enough, there she was, beating up a heavy bag in the corner. She saw him enter without missing a beat. Finally, she said, “Did Maggie send you?”

“No. But she told me what happened.” He sat on a bench nearby. “Seems like you’re handling it well.” He said sarcastically.

She gave him a sideways look that told him she was not amused. “I keep expecting her to call me and tell me she made a mistake.”

“She checked the results over and over before bringing it to you. She said there are no abnormalities that would suggest genetic manipulation and the odds of a mismatch are zero.”

“I know.” She punched the bag again. “But that would make this all a lot easier, wouldn’t it?” Then she backed up and kicked the bag hard enough to send it swinging. He involuntarily flinched, but she continued, “The way I see it there are only two explanations,” She stopped and turned toward him, breathing hard. “One, he _abandoned_ us, or two, he was abducted for some unknown reason, and it certainly didn’t appear that he was there against his will!” With that she turned and began assaulting the heavy bag again.

“Ok, so he likely left Bajor, and your family, willingly. There could still be a very good reason. Maybe he felt that your lives were in danger because of him.”

She reached out to steady the bag, “The Occupation’s been over for thirteen years!” She shouted. “Why hasn’t he come back to us? Or contacted us at all?!”

“I don’t know. They were in a secret r&d facility out here in the middle of nowhere, maybe they’ve been cut off from any news from Bajor.”

She raised her arms in exasperation and turned away from him, saying, “Now you’re just making things up.”

“Maybe.” He stood up and moved to stand behind her. “But my point is that there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation. He’s your father, you’ve grieved for him all these years, you have to at least hear him out. Even if his explanation turns out to be something you don’t agree with.” He leaned close to nuzzle her neck but she pulled away.

“Don’t, I’m sweaty.”

“I don’t care.” And he leaned over her shoulder to kiss her, but before he could, the comm sounded.

“Norv, please report to sickbay.” The doctor’s voice announced.

“On my way.” She called into the air, then to him said, “What would I do without you?”

“Probably go on a rampage through the ship and scare half of the junior officers.” He smirked. At that she shoved him and walked toward the sonic shower.

* * *

Kee stood next to Hawkins, just behind their captain at the bedside of the man she was told was her father. As hard as she tried, she still couldn’t recognize him.

Evans pressed a hypospray to his neck and a moment later his eyes began to open. She held on tightly to the object she’d retrieved from her quarters before coming here: his earring. Or, at least, the one with the family insignia that matched hers. The one that had been brought to her by a family friend who’d claimed her father had been killed during an “incident” in prison. She’d kept it all these years. It was all she had to remember him.

As he woke more fully he pressed his hand to his head and tried to sit up. The doctor helped him as Russel began, “Mr. Roner,” using his alias even though she’d been briefed, “I’m Captain Russel of the Endeavor, this is my first officer and my chief of security, we responded to your distress signal.”

He swung his legs over the side of the bio-bed to face Russel. “Captain, our equipment, we have to get it back. We cannot allow the Nausicaans to remove it from the facility.”

“I understand. We will.” Then she turned to include the other sleeping scientists, “Who is in charge? I’d like to speak to them first.”

“That would be Dr. Waits.” He pointed out the individual two bio-beds over from his.

“Thank you.” Russel said and looked at Kee with a single raised eyebrow before moving to Dr. Waits’ side.

Kee moved to stand directly in front of him, turning her head slightly to the right to conceal her earring. She noted that his own ear was unadorned. She hadn’t been sure until that moment what she would say to him. She lifted up the padd in her other hand and pretended to read from it. “Roner Penow is an alias.” She said simply, keeping her voice low.

He seemed to deflate slightly. “Someone finally figured that out.”

“Your real identity,” again pretending to refer to the padd, “is Norvish Falam. Presumed dead in 2359. Husband of Norvish Jora, father of three.”

“Yes.” He responded as though she’d backed him into a corner.

Her temper flared slightly at the admission. “Are you aware that assuming a false identity is a crime in the Federation?” She continued, struggling to keep her voice even. “You’ll likely face charges of falsifying documents, perjury, plus anything else relating to whatever you were doing down on that planetoid.”

“Look…” He paused to glance at her rank insignia, “Lieutenant-commander…”

She swallowed hard, this was it. “Norvish Keedra.”

Hearing her name his face went blank for a moment, then she could see understanding dawning in his eyes as he wrapped his mind around the identity of the Starfleet officer standing in front of him. His expression was unreadable. “K- Keedra?” Then he smiled and she suddenly saw her father in this man’s face.

Her heart pounded as emotions she’d held back for so long finally washed over her. She didn’t trust herself to speak, could only manage a weak smile. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into an embrace. She wrapped her arms around him and allowed tears to flow. In that moment, all of the uncertainty, the questions, the anger melted away and she allowed herself this moment of peace.

Finally, Kee pulled away, wiping the wetness from her eyes with her thumb while clearing her throat. She held up her hand and opened it, offering the earring to him. “I kept it.”

He smiled and took it from her, then hung it from his ear.

Kee couldn’t help but smile wider. “At this point only a few of us know your real identity, and the Captain wants to keep it that way until after the situation is resolved.”

“I understand.”

Maggie had been waiting nearby to step in, her own eyes seemed a bit teary. She passed a tricorder over him and checked the readings. “You’re free to leave, Mr. Roner.”

“Thank you.” He said, sliding off of the bio-bed onto his feet.

“Commander, Mr. Roner.” Russel called out. “Meet us in the briefing room in twenty minutes.”

“Yes, sir.” Kee said and walked with her father toward the door. They continued down the corridor in silence and entered a turbolift. “Deck six, aft.” She told the computer, then almost immediately said, “Computer halt.” She turned to him with her eyes downcast then raised them to look him in the eye, “Look, there is a very long conversation we have to have, but not right now.”

“I agree.”

“There’s just one thing I need to know first…”

“Why didn’t I contact you after the Withdrawal?” He said, anticipating her biggest question.

Her throat felt tight and she just nodded.

He paced the turbolift once and sighed, “I wanted to. And… I wish now that I had. But,” He wouldn’t make eye contact now, “I was afraid.” She waited for him to continue without interrupting him. He finally met her gaze, “Afraid that if I looked for you, and your mother and brothers, you’d all be gone.”

This time she was the one who looked away as her heart raced. She was going to have to tell him about Kershtd. Right here, right now. But first, he continued.

“I tried to look you up so many times. I had even input your names, but I couldn’t bring myself to initiate the search. I couldn’t bear the thought that you might all be dead, because of my actions.” He shook his head and leaned his back against the wall of the turbolift. “A few years went by and it was just easier to bury myself in my work. I’m sorry, you deserved to know that I was alive all these years.”

Kee turned part way away from him so he could only see her profile. She knew the question he’d ask next and it was not one she wanted to answer, but she forced herself to do it before he could ask.

“Kershtd is dead.” She said softly. Out of the corner of her eye she could see his shoulders slump and his head dropped, his worst fears realized. His grief brought her own pain back up to the surface and she struggled to push it back down where it belonged. 

She’d dealt with grief all of her life, she recognized with sympathy the process he must have been going through in his mind, though the loss of a child had to be far worse than anything she’d experienced.

Finally, he looked back up at her and asked, “What happened?”

“Wrong place at the wrong time.” She didn’t trust herself to say more.

“Edda and your mother? Joial?”

“They’re fine. They’re living in the old family house on the lake. But that’s all part of that other conversation. Resume.” She stood with her hands loosely clasped behind her back. “I’d like you to work up a quick schematic of the facility for us.”

“Actually, I can do better than that.” He reached into a pocket on his jacket and pulled out an isolinear chip. “I downloaded our entire database.”

“Nice. That will be very helpful.” When the lift doors opened again they continued on to the armory. 

* * *

Falam walked with his daughter to the ship’s security office with a heaviness he couldn’t shake. He scolded himself, he should have been thanking the Prophets for the lives of his other two children, his wife and his brother, but all he could think of was the one that was lost. Kershtd was always so sensitive to others’ circumstances, so compassionate. He would have made an excellent caregiver or healer.

With effort, he set aside thoughts of what could have been and refocused on the task of retrieving the core. Every minute that passed was another minute the Nausicaans could be tampering with it.

There were two officers on duty when they entered security and when they saw her they stiffened their posture and greeted her with “Sir.” He barely knew her, yet his heart swelled with pride.

“Streck, report.” She said.

“Totally quiet down there. No lifesigns anywhere near the crashed ship. As far as we can tell, any of them that survived the crash ended up down in the lower levels of that facility.”

“Thank you. As you were.” She showed him to an office partitioned off from the rest of the room by a transparent wall similar to the one he’d seen around the Doctor’s office in sickbay. “You can use my office.” She said, indicating for him to sit at the single chair, then moved to a replicator just on the other side of the window where she tried to conceal a yawn and ordered a cup of coffee.

The desk was completely devoid of personal items except for one little piece of duranium filament bent into a heart shape. He slid the isolinear chip into a slot and began downloading its contents into the ship’s computer.

While it worked, he took a few moments to watch her. She had been an opinionated and independent child, always pushing the limits of his and Jora’s patience. Stubborn, even in terms of Bajoran children, who he’d come to learn were near the top of that curve.

It appeared as though those traits had been developed into admirable qualities now, but there were times back then that he’d had his doubts. He’d expected her to run off to join the Resistance the moment she had the chance, but he never knew if she actually did. Actually, he still didn’t know and was curious to find out. And anxious to tell her what had happened, why he’d left them the way he did. He desperately hoped she’d understand.

He wanted to lean out and talk to her, but wasn’t sure what there was to talk about just yet. Until they had the core back in their possession, they had to keep it at a professional level. The little bit they’d talked had already nearly derailed his concentration.

Just to hear her talk, though… It had been so long since he’d heard his native language, he’d almost forgotten how beautiful the Jorallan dialect was. So delicate and nuanced. He could still remember his little girl switching indiscriminately between it and the harsh and discordant language of the Cardassians. The Cardassians could never seem to understand how Bajoran children learned their language without being formally taught.

The computer made a sound to indicate the download was complete and he selected several files to set aside as particularly relevant to retrieving the core and verified that any sensitive data was still encrypted. He looked at the chronometer on the display that indicated Captain Russel’s designated meeting time was approaching. Just about that time Keedra deactivated the console she’d been working at and stepped over to the opening to her office. “Ready to go?”

He removed the isolinear chip and set it aside to be used for other data transfers in the future and stood, “Yep.”

They once again rode the turbolift together to deck one. The doors opened again and they joined the rest of the senior staff and his associates in the conference room. He sat next to them and Keedra sat in an empty seat on the opposite side.

When everyone was seated, Captain Russel began by making some cursory introductions, lastly saying, “Doctor Cynthia Waits is the lead on this project, she’ll walk us through what we need to know.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Waits was standing at the display screen on the wall and called up some of the files Falam had just transferred. “Our team has been working on a new, artificial matrix that might someday replace dilithium.”

Lieutenant Brisk perked up at that information, but Commander Hawkins spoke up, “If that’s all it is, why is this project top secret.”

“It’s not secret, exactly, it’s just highly sensitive. And the reason is that there are other applications to this technology that we can’t risk falling into the hands of those who would use it against the Federation.”

“What does that mean?” Hawkins said irritably.

Waits sighed patiently, “Like I said, it’s highly sensitive, and really very technical. I’d be happy to have private conversations later with anyone who’s been cleared by Starfleet Command, but for now it’s imperative that we retrieve the core.”

She called up a schematic of the facility. “As you can see, the facility was built with a semi-corkscrew design with a central pit that we use for various types of special distortion during our testing. A long ramp twists around the central pit as it descends. There are no turbolifts and the em radiation from the core blocks the transporter except into and out of the upper-most level, and, as you already know, pattern enhancers are necessary for beam-out even there.”

She indicated the bottom of the cork-screw on the schematic. “This level is the habitat and directly below that is the r&d lab. Your team will need to beam in here,” She pointed to the top level, “And descend the ramp to here.” Pointing to the lowest level.

Keedra sat forward in her chair, looking up from the schematic on her padd that she had zoomed in to study more closely. “What kind of security systems does your facility have?”

“We had automated weaponry and a standard internal security grid that was destroyed when the Nausicaans attacked. And I’m afraid, Commander, that you’ll find little cover for your team on the ramp.” To the rest of the group she said, “Once the core has been deactivated, we can safely transport it into a containment unit that Dr. Lethco and I will help your engineers construct.”

“She’s already provided me with the specs,” Brisk spoke up, “We’ll need a space of at least ten cubic meters. I’d like to use lower cargo bay two.” Brisk suggested and the Captain nodded her approval.

“So, how do we shut it down?” Hawkins asked.

“I’ll hand that over to our computer specialist, Mr. Roner.”

She sat down and Falam spoke up. “It’s a process that requires two people working simultaneously on adjacent terminals.” He used a padd to magnify the appropriate portion on the screen showing the two workstations next to the core. “The workstations are separated by machinery that feeds matter and antimatter into the core during testing, so the two people will need to split up here,” he marked the location where to two hallways split about twenty meters away from the workstations. “I can instruct each member of the security team on how to go through the process so that no matter who gets there first, they’ll be able to do it.”

“Agreed.” Russel said.

Before she was able to wrap up the meeting he spoke up again, “And, I’d like to be down there with them.”

He saw Keedra stiffen, but Russel responded. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Mr. Roner. Based on what I’ve gathered from Starfleet Command we can’t afford to lose you.”

He bristled slightly at the idea that his life was more important than another’s, especially his daughter’s. “With respect, Captain, I think it’s important for me to be with them. The Nausicaans have had access to the system for over two days, if they’ve been attempting to modify the core in order to remove it, we’ll need someone down there that is familiar with the system.”

Russel stole a glance at Keedra but said, “Ok, you’re on the team.” Then she turned to Brisk, “How long will it take to construct the containment unit?”

“A couple of hours.”

“Get on it, then. Norv, gather your team and have Mr. Roner train them on the shutdown procedure, you have two hours. Dales, keep an eye out for any of the Nausicaan’s friends and be ready to get us out of here on a moment’s notice.” Russel said, each of her officers acknowledging their orders. She stood up to signal the end of the meeting, “Dismissed.”

Falam walked with Keedra back toward the turbolift, she tapped her commbadge, “Security teams Alpha-1 and -2, report to the armory immediately. Deck six.” She said as the turbolift doors closed. “What is the highest phaser you’re rated on?” She said stiffly.

“A type two hand phaser.” Though, he’d never had to fire a phaser at another living being before, only holo-target practice. He hoped this wouldn’t be the time for it.

“And do you have any training in hand-to-hand combat?” She said, her tone becoming slightly harsher.

“No.”

Tension visibly passed across her jaw for a moment. “Then stick close to me.”

“I take it you’re unhappy about me going down there with you? I’m sorry if my insisting on going down there puts you in a difficult position.”

“I’m unhappy about civilians coming on missions, period. And in this case… if things go sideways and something were to happen, what would I say to Mother? And to Edda and Joial? I _can’t_ guarantee your safety.”

He sighed heavily, he hated doing this to her. “I can see already that you’re dedicated to your job. So am I. It’s my choice to go down there, I’m willing to take the risk. If something happens, it’s on me, not you.”

The turbolift doors opened and he thought he heard her mutter, “It’s always on me.” As she walked out.

Just before they got to the security office two officers, a lieutenant and an ensign, hurried around the corner and into the room before them, but by the time he and Keedra walked into the room all eight officers were standing in a line waiting for their CO. She moved to the center, facing them and outlined the basics of the facility’s physical layout to them.

“There’s no cover on the access ramp, but also no way for them to flank us either. At least one of us plus Mr. Roner need to get to the lowest level and shut down the core in order to beam it back to the ship.”

She paused, “These are _Nausicaans_ , expect heavy resistance, concealed weapons and dirty tactics. Remember that the stun setting is virtually useless on Nausicaans, your phasers must be set to kill and, even then, it can take two to three shots to even slow them down.”

One of the Lieutenants spoke up, “Does that mean we’re using lethal force?”

“If necessary, but ideally we want these guys in custody in the end. You all know what to do to prepare, Mr. Roner will take each of you aside to show you how to initiate the deactivation sequence.”

As her security team began the process of checking and rechecking their equipment he showed Keedra first the steps to deactivate the core. “... then lock out the harmonic ionizing resonator here. That will force the computer to shut off the cycle fusion substructure, which will terminate the mater/antimater inversion matrix.”

Keedra looked at him sideways with a raised eyebrow for a long moment. Finally, she cleared her throat and turned back to the console where he’d set up a demo version of the core system. “I can follow the steps you just did, but I’m sorry to disappoint you, I have no idea what any of it means.” She said and demonstrated on the console what he’d just shown her.

“That’s okay, you don’t have to understand it.” He said with a laugh.

“Is that it?”

“Yep, it looks like you’ve got it.”

“Streck.” She called, waving a Lieutenant over and left him to it.

Falam instructed each of the security officers one by one. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Keedra also individually giving them last-minute instructions.

Once he was finished with the last officer she took him to an empty corner of the room and called up a holographic Nausicaan. She showed him some basic strategies for disabling or at least slowing them down. He did his best to focus on her instructions, all the while impressed at her knowledge and confidence. The skill and grace with which she moved. Not to mention how comfortable she was touching this holographic monster that most people would shrink from.

The security office had been eerily quiet during the whole process, everyone speaking in hushed tones, if they spoke at all. Most of them just went about their preparations in silence. The chief engineer’s voice suddenly broke through the calm, “Norv, we’re ready here when you are.”

She looked up to respond, “So are we, tell the captain we’ll be beaming down within five minutes.” When the commlink closed, she turned to her team, “Suit up.”

Without a word one officer pulled a rack of grey vests out of the wall. Along with her officers, Keedra pulled off her uniform tunic and turtleneck then grabbed one of the vests. As she did so, he could see what looked like tendrils of a black tattoo curling out from under her tank top. He filed that away to ask about later.

She wrapped the vest around her and it contracted to conform to her body. When she had reassembled her uniform over top of the protective vest she pulled a second one off of the rack and handed it to him. He repeated a similar process. The vest felt snug but he was surprised it didn’t restrict his movement at all.

When everyone had grabbed a phaser rifle and a hand phaser off of two other racks, Keedra picked up a hand phaser and passed it to him. As he attached it to his waistband the security team assembled into two groups of four. “Let’s go.” She called to them. He joined her and together they lead them to the transporter rooms. One group split off with Keedra and Falam into the first transporter room and the other presumably continued to the other. He took up a position next to Keedra on the transporter pad with the others behind them.

“Sensors show no lifesigns near the beam-in point.” The transporter operator informed them.

Keedra tapped her commbadge, “Norv to Russel. We’re ready.”

“Good luck. Energize.” With that the room disappeared from his vision, replaced by the wreckage from the vestibule where he and the others had taken refuge for days. 

* * *

Kee hefted her weapon and crouched below the railing as the transporter released her, watching the part of the ramp that was visible on the other side of the pit. The area was silent for the moment.

Using only hand gestures, she ordered Wagner and Rosten to flank her father. Streck and Makgotla were assigned to the left, Kaohi and Th’rarek to the rear and she took point along with Kimura and Vahar. She moved cautiously forward without having to check to be sure her team was following.

After they’d completed one full circuit, they reached the stretch of the ramp that was enclosed. It was at this point that they heard a rough, distinctive shout. “Targets spotted.”

Her team pulled back but stayed in formation while compressed phaser blasts showered the space around them. Those on the right were able to use the rightward curve of the corridor as a small amount of cover. Kee glanced at her officers on the left to be certain they’d moved a safe distance back. She motioned for them to stay while she, Kimura and Vahar crept forward along the wall.

Kimura was significantly taller than her, so Kee knelt on the floor while he leaned in above her. When she felt he was prepared, she leaned out where she could see the first Nausicaan and opened fire.

Even having landed several direct hits between the two of them, the Nausicaans didn’t budge. Vahar set himself up beside Kee and joined in, shooting past her close enough that the skin on that side of her face tingled.

Between Vahar’s shots, out of the corner of her eye, she could see Streck and Makgotla slowly approach the sightline. They automatically staggered their shots so that the enemy would face a constant barrage.

Finally, the Nausicaans began to move back. the Starfleet team maintained the assault. Without rising up or moving into Vahar’s way, she crept forward to keep them in view.

When they could see that the Nausicaans began to retreat, Kee told her people, “Go!”

They advanced quickly but with caution, fully aware these two had probably already alerted their accomplices and were leading them into an ambush. There was, however, only the one way down. “Eyes open.” She reminded, as they charged along.

* * *

When they neared the habitat level, Falam’s pair of body guards held back from the others at first. Here, Keedra’s team finally found some cover at the edges of the open entry way.

He caught a glimpse of the room that had been part of his home for almost ten years. He and the others had eaten here, worked on projects that needed more space than the lab provided, they used the room to unwind and for just about everything other than work and sleep. All in the characteristic comfortable-minimalism of Starfleet décor.

The room was completely disheveled now, though. Tables overturned, chairs scattered, consoles smashed and either sparking or completely dead. The door that lead to the lab was on the opposite side of the chaos.

Keedra motioned for them to remain still while she reached around the edge and fired two shots blindly into the room. Her attack was answered by a barrage of phaser fire in return.

“At least we know where they are.” Rosten muttered.

With phaser blasts sailing past her still, Keedra calmly checked the charge on her phaser rifle, removed the power cell and slid a new one into place. She then pulled a small mirror from somewhere in her uniform and used it to peek around the corner.

“At least seven hostiles, spread through the room. Streck, Kimura and Kaohi, you’re with me.” She said in a hushed voice. “The rest of you cover us and protect the asset.”

With barely any time to register the order, Kimura and Makgotla leaned out on either side of the doorway and opened fire, providing cover for the others. Th’rarek joined them a moment later.

Keedra ducked low and ran inside under the active weapons fire, and the other three followed, ending up concealing themselves behind various pieces of furniture.

Falam had a feeling what was coming next.

Sure enough, when the first group was in position, Wagner urged him forward. He did his best commando impression and hurried from the corridor to the overturned table Keedra had taken cover behind. She seemed unbelievably calm. Rosten and Th’rarek found positions beside Kimura and Kaohi as well. Makgotla and Vahar remained at the doorway.

“On my signal, we’re going in, whoever gets a clear path, grab Roner and make a break for it.” She told her team over the howl of phaser fire. “And try not to get shot or stabbed. I really don’t want to do the paperwork.” She added with a smirk.

She swung her phaser rifle over the top of the table to return fire, then ducked back down. The moment there was the tiniest break in the firefight, she pointed her team onward. 

Keedra vaulted over the table and took them head on, her team following her lead. The officers sprang from their hiding places at the advancing mercenaries. Falam watched and tried to keep up with her actions, he thought he saw her use some of the strategies she’d briefly taught him, but she moved too fast for him to follow. She finally swung the back of her phaser rifle up and across the combatant’s face and he fell to her feet unconscious. Her weapon, however sparked and went dead.

Keedra glanced around to see that her officers had the other Nausicaans busy and motioned for him to come with her. Together they hurried to the back of the room where the stairs to the lowest level were located.

She flew down the spiral staircase with her hand phaser drawn and stopped for a moment at the bottom to scout the area while he caught up.

“This way.” He told her, starting off to the right where the control rooms were.

With a few long strides, she was next to him again. It wasn’t long before they came to the point where the machinery forced them to split up into the two parallel hallways. With a quick check behind them to see that they weren’t followed, they parted ways and continued to their separate control rooms.

As he reached the workstation, he saw that she was already on the other side of the transparent aluminum window, inputting commands with her phaser resting at the edge of the control panel. He waited for her to complete her part of the process so that he could do his.

They were now next to the very bottom of the cone-shaped empty space that the long, spiraling corridor circled with the core at its heart. The machinery that separated them fed matter and antimatter into the core then the distortions from the controlled reaction formed up and outward harmlessly.

Keedra precisely repeated what he had shown her on the ship despite clearly not understanding the engineering behind it. She must have inherited her mechanical sense from her mother. Jora had plenty of admirable qualities, but engineering wasn’t one of them.

Movement at the door behind Keedra caught his attention. Seemly in slow motion, he saw a huge Nausicaan grab her from behind and spun her around to face him. With the same movement, he hit her in the cheek with the heel of his hand. Light glinted off a row of curved blades attached to the armor on his forearm.

She turned and fell with the momentum but was back on her feet in time to deflect his next hit. She lashed out with a kick but he deflected it. She threw several punches but he continued to block them. Then she kicked downward against the side of his knee, forcing it to bend in the wrong direction.

While he was distracted with what had to be extreme pain, she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, lifted herself up to brace her feet against his chest and used her weight and leverage to flip him over onto his back.

Both combatants sprang back to their feet. The Nausicaan wrapped his oversized hands around her neck. She tried to dislodge them, but couldn’t. Instead, she ducked and twisted out of his grasp, ending up with the fabric on his shoulder clutched in her hands. She shoved him sideways to smash his head into the bulkhead.

He turned back as though nothing had happened and swung his armored forearm down toward her, intending to slash the blades across her neck.

Falam froze in place as he waited, helpless to do anything but hold his breath.

In a flash, she reached up and caught his arm with her bare hand, crying out as the blades dug into the flesh on her palm.

Very quickly, blood began dripping down across the back of her hand.

The Nausicaan used his considerable size and strength to press his advantage over her, but she didn’t waiver. A moment later she folded and rotated her body, forcing him to stumble forward. Twisting his other arm behind him she kicked his knee sideways again. He roared in pain, wrenched himself from her grasp and limped a few steps away, then turned to attack again.

Holding her bloodied left hand close to her body she spun and slammed her heal into his neck just under his chin. His head snapped back at an unnatural angle and he dropped to the floor.

She turned back to Falam and her eyes widened, looking at something behind him. He turned to see another Nausicaan rushing toward him. He ducked out of the way and lifted his phaser.

Seeing the weapon slowed the Nausicaan down long enough for Falam to see Keedra hastily tapping the last of her commands into the system, but when the Nausicaan saw his shaking hands he attacked. Falam managed to duck away from the first few blows and caught a glimpse of Keedra, still cradling her injured hand, scaling the machinery that separated the two rooms.

The Nausicaan’s forearm struck his chest, knocking him gasping against the wall and he dropped to the floor, dazed.

Through the mental haze he saw Keedra leap down off of the machinery, pulling the Nausicaan down and slamming his head into the floor. She was back on her feet in no time and as the Nausicaan began to push himself up, she slammed her knee under his jaw.

Like the other one, he collapsed to the floor, only this one was still breathing.

Keedra helped Falam to his feet and quickly wrapped her hand with a handkerchief she pulled from a hidden pocket on her uniform while he finished initiating the shutdown sequence. When the process was complete, he tapped his commbadge, but the core dematerialized before he could initiate the connection. The dematerialization sequence, though, didn’t look like that of a Starfleet transporter.

“Endeavor!” Keedra called after slapping her commbadge. “What’s happening?!”

 _“Another Nausicaan raider came out of nowhere.”_ Captain Russel’s voice broke through. _“They beamed it right out from under us. We’re beaming your team directly to shuttle bay two with the exception of Streck, he’s been injured.”_

“I take it-” Keedra’s comment was momentarily interrupted by the transporter. “-you want us to go after them in the Gyges.” She finished after the materialization process was complete while pressing her hand into a tight fist to slow the bleeding.

_“Exactly. Decoy maneuver. We’re already in pursuit. Lieutenant Dales is on his way there now.”_

Keedra visually registered each of her remaining team members as they climbed onto a new-generation shuttle. After the last one had entered, Falam moved to board as well but Keedra stopped him.

“We’ll handle this. You need to stay here.”

“Wherever the core goes, I go. It’s extremely unstable in the state it’s in right now.”

She didn’t look like she was going to back down.

“I need to be there to stabilize it or nine years of work could be destroyed.”

Dales pushed past them into the shuttle as she finally gave in with only a hand gesture.

She boarded the shuttle after him and soon he heard the hatch close behind them.

Keedra followed the pilot into the cockpit and took up a standing position behind him and next to Kaohi, who had taken the tactical position. Within less than a minute, they were lifting off. The shuttle turned to face the open bay doors. The starts streaming by indicated that Endeavor had already gone to warp.

Falam stifled a sharp intake of air. Were they really going to depart from the ship at warp?

Dales, however, worked the controls as calm as though this were nothing but an ordinary shuttle flight.

“So, what’s this Decoy Maneuver?” He whispered to Keedra, more to take his mind off of what they were about to do than actual curiosity.

“It only works with a gyges-class shuttle. Endeavor will engage the enemy ship and simulate damage severe enough to have to drop out of warp. Since the Gyges is nearly undetectable on sensors, they’ll have no idea we’re still following. Then we just wait for an opportunity. Maybe even find out who they’re working for.”

While she was talking, the shuttle passed out of its mother ship’s warp field with only a shudder.

“Five thousand kilometers from Endeavor.” Kaohi reported as they moved away to the side. The elongated forward hull of the intrepid-class ship became visible through the port window.

As soon as they’d given the shuttle enough time to move away, the space between Endeavor and the Nausicaan raider lit up with phaser fire. As they watched, the raider returned fire without slowing down.

Weapons surged forward from Endeavor again, making a good show of trying to stop them. The raider unleashed a vicious barrage of weapons fire back at Endeavor.

Keedra’s expression was unreadable, watching her ship assaulted.

“Sensors indicate Endeavor’s shields are down.” Kaohi reported.

Part of the ruse, he assumed.

Another tight grouping of weapons fire erupted from the raider, scorching Endeavor’s unprotected hull.

“Their warp core is shutting down. They’ve dropped out of warp.” Kaohi said. “Nausicaans are maintaining course and speed.”

He hadn’t realized Keedra had been holding her breath until she let it out. “Keep us on them.” She told Dales. “Any idea where this course is heading?”

“No way to tell yet.”

“And how long until we can catch up to them?”

“That engine isn’t designed to maintain this speed for long, I’d expect them to drop down to a lower warp within a few hours. Once that happens, it won’t take long for us to overtake them.”

Sensing a long wait ahead of them, Falam looked around the cockpit for a med kit. When he located it, he pulled it off of the wall and rested it open on an empty table attached to the wall. Keedra was only an arm-length away and he tugged on her arm to invite her over.

When she was close enough, he lifted up her hand and passed the tricorder over it, watching the readings on the tiny screen. “It doesn’t look like there is any deep-tissue damage. A dermal regenerator should do it.” He led her gently to a chair, had her sit down and he sat down across from her. He carefully unwrapped her hand and began to slowly pass the dermal regenerator over the gash.

When he was finished, he used the clean part of the handkerchief to wipe the blood off of her hand. For a moment, he could almost see her hand as it was when she was a little girl as though he was wiping mud from her small fingers. His heart ached for the time they’d lost.

Just as quickly as it had come the image passed and his mind was back in the present.

She pulled her hand away and inspected it, then looked intently into his eyes. “We need to get you to sickbay as soon as we get back to Endeavor, you may have a concussion after a blow like that.”

* * *

After nearly three hours of staring at stars streaking past the side cockpit windows, Falam had been beginning to wonder how far they’d have to travel before the Gyges would finally have an opportunity to apprehend them. Then Lieutenant Dales had announced a few minutes ago that the Nausicaans had dropped to a lower warp, just as he’d predicted. It shouldn’t be long now. To keep himself busy he mentally traced through the various potential ways the Nausicaans could be mangling the core and what he could do about it.

Keedra appeared from the aft compartment and tossed two field ration packets to Kaohi who handed one to Dales. She then handed one to Falam and sat down in the chair across from him to eat one too. He really wasn’t hungry so he turned the packet over in his hand as he watched her absentmindedly flex hers back and forth before opening it and picking out the broken pieces to eat one by one.

There was so much that needed to be said between the two of them. So much he wanted to tell her and to know about her. He had thought many times about what he would say if he ever met one of them, his children. And now that he had, he wanted to say it all right away. But this was neither the place nor the time.

“That’s strange.” Dales muttered.

Keedra was immediately on her feet behind him. “What?”

“If we stay on this course, we’ll be headed straight for Rho Tucanae.”

Keedra rested her hand on the nape of his neck as she bent over to peer at his console. “That’s a Romulan-controlled system.”

“Exactly.”

“How long until we reach the neutral zone?”

“A few more hours.”

Keedra’s only response was a thoughtful sigh.

Kaohi said from the tactical console, “So, what do we do? Overtake them and confront them directly? Continue our stealth pursuit and risk beaming over at warp?..”

“We’re outgunned, I’d like to avoid a firefight if possible and beaming over at warp is too risky with more than one person.” Keedra said.

Finally faced with a problem he could handle. “If we emit an inverse graviton burst, we might be able to collapse their warp field and knock them down to impulse.”

Keedra turned toward him without looking directly at him with a far-off expression as she thought through their options. “Can you do it in a way that will look like some kind of natural phenomenon?”

“If I add in a harmonic phase variance, they might think it’s a subspace extrusion.”

“Do it.” She said, then turned to Kaohi as he began to make the modifications at an auxiliary console. “The moment they’re out of warp, there’s a good chance they’ll put up their shields. If I remember correctly, the Nausicaans use paratrinic shield technology. There’s little chance we’d be able to punch through with our weapons.”

“I heard a theory once,” Kaohi said, “That a subspace pulse at the same resonance frequency, aimed at the shield convergence point could cause a feedback surge in paratrinic shield emitters.”

“How credible a theory is it?” Keedra asked skeptically.

Falam looked up from what he was doing and offered, “I read that, too. I believe it’s a sound theory.”

Keedra nodded, “The Nausicaans could detect the pulse and trace it back to us. We’ll need to change positions after each one.”

Falam completed the modifications on the deflector and prepared to initiate. “The graviton burst is ready.”

“Wait for my mark.” Keedra said and glanced down at Kaohi, who nodded that he was ready, too. “Loren, prepare to drop out of warp when they do.”

“Standing by.” He said, as unphased by her use of his given name as he was at her touch earlier.

“Initiate the pulse.” She said, focused on Kaohi’s panel.

Falam keyed in the command to emit the initial burst. The deflector thrummed softly but there was no visible indication of the burst. “Their warp field is fluctuating.” He told them.

He increased the amplitude, reset the deflector and initiated a second burst. The raider’s warp field suddenly collapsed and Dales instantly dropped out of warp and brought the shuttle about in a tight arc back toward the raider.

“They’re raising shields.” Kaohi said. “I’ve located the convergence point. Beginning pulse.”

“Changing speed and position.” Dales said.

“We’re detecting a feedback loop, their shield emitters are overloading.”

“Any chance they’ve spotted us?” Keedra asked.

“They’re scanning our last position, but that’s it.”

“Their shields are down. I’ve located the core, but there’s a dampening field around it.” Kaohi said.

“Okay, I’m taking a team over there. Maintain current status. We’ll keep an open comm.” With that, Keedra stalked to the back of the cockpit and through the door.

Falam followed, wasting no time.

The rest of the security team were busy preparing phasers and tricorder. He assumed they’d been performing some kind of necessary busy work this whole time.

“Wagner, Rosten, Kimura and Vahar, you’re with me. Makgotla, prepare to beam us over.”

“I need to be there too.” Falam said.

Keedra looked up from fastening a phaser onto her left hip. “Absolutely not. We don’t know what we’re heading into over there. I am not going to bring a civilian, let alone a Federation asset, into that kind of situation.”

“You cannot just grab the core and beam it back. It’s been shut down and out of containment for hours, it could be unstable.” She took a breath to argue, but he continued, “It could be irreparable damaged.”

“We’ll have to take that risk. I will not take you over there.” With that she turned away to affix a tricorder to her right hip.

“Keedra!” He said more harshly than he’d intended and with the glower she turned on him, he knew he’d crossed a line. Not only had he used her given name, but also a tone of authority in front of her subordinates. The expression on her face was a near duplicate of the look Jora would have just before he realized he’d lost the argument.

The security officers around them were deathly silent as they waited for her reaction. Falam, however, backed down first. “Sorry. Commander,” He corrected, “I need to examine the core before it’s beamed back here.”

Her expression slowly softened and finally, she said, “We’ll go first, then you and Th’rarek can beam over if and when we have the section secure.”

“Agreed.” He said, relieved to have reached a compromise.

“There’s a storage compartment that’s outside of the dampening field, but connected by a maintenance passage.” Makgotla spoke up.

“Lifesigns?” She asked.

“None in the storage compartment, two in the corridor and four in the lab where the core is located.”

Kedra checked to be certain her team was ready, then said to Makgotla, “Send us over.”

Falam watched with unease as his newly reunited daughter vanished into a whorl of molecules.

* * *

Kee hesitated just inside the exit to the maintenance passage. It was wide enough for Wagner to sidle up next to her, but only one would be able to fit through the hatch at a time. To make matters worse, the height was almost as cramped as a standard Jeffries tube. At least the scattering field Wagner had set up on his tricorder to mask their biosigns seemed to be working, otherwise there would be an intruder alarm blaring already.

She thought through their options. They couldn’t risk using any explosives this close to the core. In fact, limited phaser fire was ideal.

Option One: they stay inside the passage and shoot at the Nausicaans from the opening. At best, they’d be able to pick off two of them, then the other two would call for backup and her team would be trapped in here facing attack from both ends of the passage.

Option Two: they rush through the hatch, commando style, shooting on the way in. again, they _might_ be able to take out two of them before they sounded the alarm.

Option Three: …er…

One of the earliest lessons Ren had taught her was, when surprise and force fail, you’re left with distraction. “Using what we have with us, is there any way to tap into their computer system?” She said into the open comm in a hushed voice.

There was a long pause before her father answered, _“Open up one of your commbadges.”_

Kee nodded to Wagner to obey. He plucked off his commbadge and popped the backing off.

_“Cross connect the micro-optic transceiver on the commbadge with stational flux converter assembly on your tricorder.”_

“Stand by.” Kee said as the two of them carried out their instructions.

“What do you have in mind.” Wagner asked.

“I’m going to feed a false intruder alert in another section into their tactical system. Hopefully pull at least two of them away.” When she completed the modifications and linkage between the tricorder and commbadge, it immediately searched for a connection with the raider’s computer. Federation Standard numbers and letters scrolled past on the tiny screen too fast for her to make them out. They suddenly stopped, followed by _Connection Established_.

Kee got to work accessing the tactical system. “Looking forward to your leave time next month Rosten?”

“Uh, yes sir.” She said stiffly.

“Where are you planning to go?”

“Qo'noS.”

Kee looked up from her tricorder and turned in unison with the others toward Rosten.

“I’ve always wanted to see the Qa’vak tournament in person.” She explained.

“Take it easy on the blood wine.” Wagner said.

“Vahar,” Kee prompted, returning to her work, “What’s this rumor I heard the last time we were at Starbase 514?”

The Bolian didn’t say a word, only flushed a darker shade of blue and back-hand-slapped Kimura’s shoulder.

“I didn’t say anything.” Kimura said defensively.

Kee smiled to herself while she finished drilling down into the alien security system. When she found the function she was looking for, she turned back to her team. “Vahar, when we go in, I want you to secure the doors. The rest of us will take on whichever Nausicaans don’t take the bait.” She looked each of them in the eye. “Ready?”

To the sound of four “Yes sir’s,” she and Wagner positioned themselves to spring forward out of the passage. Kee’s finger hovered for a beat over the key that would initiate the alarm, then she pressed it.

An alarm klaxon immediately sounded and she switched her tricorder back to scanning mode. As she watched the readout, two of the four Nausicaans in the lab moved out into the corridor. She waited a few moments to be sure they wouldn’t come right back in, then nodded for Wagner to open the hatch.

In unison, she and Wagner leaned out and fired their phasers at the startled Nausicaans, but it only slowed them down slightly. They had their weapons raised and aimed at the intruders instantly. Kee and Wagner dove through the opening and rolled to a crouch to begin firing rapidly while the junior members of the team moved in behind them.

She quickly abandoned the usability of her phaser for a more hands-on option. She took the one on the right, swinging her forearm over to deflect his phaser rifle, then struck a punch into his neck. With a fast movement, she slammed her knee into his stomach, ducked down and pivoted around behind him to wrap her arm around his neck.

While she pulled back, he struggled to regain his balance and Kimura delivered a kick to his gut hard enough that she nearly lost her balance, too. Instead, she turned with the momentum and shoved the Nausicaan to the floor.

With the full weight of both she and Kimura pinning him down, Kee quickly reached back for the pair of restraints tucked in the back of her uniform and clasped them onto one of his wrists. Then she wrenched his arm around behind him to wrap the restraints around a length of pipe that ran along the floor and introduced his other wrist to the restraints.

When she looked up, she saw Wagner and Rosten similarly cuffing the other Nausicaan, who happened to be unconscious, and based on the pounding at the door, Vahar had also completed his task.

“See if you can get that dampening field down, too.” She told him as she stood up.

“I can’t, it’s all I can do to stay ahead of their bypasses and keep the door locked.”

“Kimura, help him.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Th’rarek and Ronar, stand by to transport.” She said into the open comm.

 _“Standing by.”_ Th’rarek said.

While Wagner and Rosten held guard over the restrained Nausicaans, Kee kept her phaser trained on the door, just in case Vahar failed. The sound of the banging was so sharp they must have been using some sort of metal ram. “How’s it going, Kimura?”

“Almost there.” He said while he worked. “Got it.” He said, finally. “Gyges, you can energize when ready.”

Within seconds, Th’rarek materialized with Kee’s father next to him. Her anxiety level rose significantly in that moment. She couldn’t believe she’d agreed to this.

He immediately began inspecting the equipment while his Andorian body guard stood watch next to her.

“Reinitializing the dampening field.” Kimura said.

Anxious minutes ticked by in silence except for the Nausicaans trying to force the door open and the computer sounds from Vahar’s attempts to block them from overriding the lock.

The Nausicaan she and Kimura had overpowered finally broke the silence with the distinctive speech pattern of his race. “I know a Cardassian… that would pay… 500 leks… for a Bajoran female.”

Kee ignored the taunt but saw her father cast a sideways glance at her.

Wagner looked like he was the one who might react. Kee firmly pressed her palm into his chest without saying a word.

The Nausicaan only laughed a deep, guttural laugh.

Falam sighed heavily. “It looks like they were trying to access the teraphasic multi-isolinear subactuators.”

“That’s bad?” Kee asked.

“It can be. And it’ll take a few minutes for me to undo it.”

“Vahar, are you able to keep that up for a few more minutes?” She asked.

“I guess I’ll have to, sir.”

“Good man.” She muttered.

How many mercs might be left on this ship, she wondered. A craft this size and era couldn’t have less than fifteen crewmembers to run it. It had taken four of her team members to take down just two of them, and she doubted they’d be able to keep up this pace. She knew her team, she knew their capabilities and their stamina. But she doubted they’d be able to face another dozen of these guys.

“I’ve got it. We’re ready to transport.”

 _“Standing by.”_ Kaohi said from the Gyges.

Kimura worked the controls in front of him, “Switching off the scattering field.”

Kee waited a moment, “Energize.”

Without orders, Kaohi would know to take the core, her father and two members of the team first. Sure enough, the equipment and the three people closest to it began to disappear into the transporter buffer.

As they watched, the core continued to dematerialize, but Falam, Wagner and Th’rarek re-solidified.

_“I got the core, but they deflected the other transporter signals back to you. And they’ve reestablished the dampening field.”_

“Confirmed, I’ve lost control over the dampening field. They’re expanding it to cover a larger portion of the ship and widening the band to block comms. We’ve lost contact with the Gyges.” Kimura said.

“I can’t keep them out, they’re overriding the lock!” Vahar called out.

“Cover him.” She said to Wagner and Th’rarek, pointing to her father as the doors opened.

The two officers surrounded him and pushed him farther away from the door while the others prepared to confront the Nausicaans.

Two bulky Nausicaans crammed into the doorway, firing into the room without regard for their captive crewmates. Kee and the others crouched down to make themselves into smaller targets and fired back.

The assault forced Kee, Vahar, Kimura and Rosten to retreat farther into the room and cut them off from Wagner and the others.

One shot from one of the Nausicaans caught Th’rarek in the abdomen. With one of the two of them out of commission, one of the Nausicaans rushed forward and slammed the butt of his rifle across Wagner’s face and he dropped limp to the floor.

As Kee tried desperately to reach him, the Nausicaan grabbed her father in a headlock and dragged him toward the door.

The Nausicaan that had remained at the door made enough room for the other one to drag his prisoner out and down the corridor, then he resumed shooting into the room a few more times, finally following his colleague. Before he disappeared, he fired into the door controls, causing the doors to slide shut hard.

Kee raced to the doors and tried futilely to open them. The doors wouldn’t budge. Their Nausicaan prisoner’s renewed laughter wasn’t helping the matter. She slapped the door with her palm in frustration. They had him and she was stuck.

After taking a few hard breaths, she turned toward her team. Vahar bent over Th’rarek, pressing a handkerchief over the bleeding wound. Rosten looked up at Kee with her fingers against Wagner’s neck.

“He’s just knocked out.”

“You two stay here with them and guard the prisoners. Kimura, you’re with me.” Kee said and went back to working on the doors.

Kimura suddenly appeared next to her with some kind of prying tool. He wedged it into the microscopic space between the doors and began prying them apart. As soon as there was enough space for her fingers, she fed them through the gap, secured her foot against the opposite door frame for leverage and pulled as hard as she could.

The doors slid a fraction of a centimeter and Kimura wrapped his fingers around the other door and pulled in the opposite direction. As soon as they’d inched the doors far enough apart, she wedged her body into the opening and pressed with her back and Kimura’s hands against one door and her hands and feet against the other.

The edge of the door dug into her back as she pushed with all of her strength, finally widening the gap enough for Kimura to slip through. Once he was on the other side, she prepared to make a move and launched herself into the corridor. The doors slammed shut after her.

* * *

Kee proceeded cautiously through the alien corridor with Kimura. There were still plenty of Nausicaans left on the ship to shop them. She paused for a moment when she spotted drops of blood on the decking. Not Nausicaan blood. Kimura saw it too. At least they knew they were going the right way.

Based on the schematic she’d glanced at earlier, they were nearing the ship’s bridge. The way Nausicaans designed their ships, the bridge was always located centrally, not on the top-most deck where it would be an easy target. Kee had always thought that was much more tactically sound than the way most other organizations did it.

As they approached what should be the last bend before reaching the bridge, they slowed to listen. With her back pressed against the wall, she could faintly hear the heavy mouth-breathing of a pair of Nausicaans. Probably standing on either side of the door, which for security purposes, would be the only way into the bridge.

Glancing back at the deck, the trail of blood definitely led here.

She evaluated her options again. There were no good ones, but they had to make a move soon before someone decided to pay a visit to the bridge. She shifted her feet as she thought and the heel of her boot bumped against something hard. When she looked down, she saw the same kind of pipe running along the wall that she had cuffed that one to before.

Kee reached for her tricorder, only to find that it was gone. It must have fallen off in the scuffle earlier.

Kimura noticed and wordlessly handed her his.

She flipped it open and scanned the pipe. It contained pressurized carbon dioxide, non-toxic, but it would work as a cover. She handed the tricorder back to Kimura and switched her phaser back to her right hand.

Before she made a move, she silently mouthed, “Ready?” to Kimura.

When he nodded, she leaned out as far as she safely could and fired a single shot at the pipe as close to the guards as possible. She was rewarded by a loud hiss and a heavy mist filling the corridor as the gas combined with the air to form a vapor. It would dissipate quickly, though.

The two of them leapt out of their hiding place toward the startled Nausicaans, she headed for one and him for the other. She managed to grab his phaser rifle just as he was beginning to raise it. She pointed it toward the ceiling and wrapped her arm around it for leverage, then she used her body weight to shove the Nausicaan down toward the hissing pipe. With his face in a cloud of carbon dioxide, she rotated the weapon back toward him and fired point-blank into his chest.

She turned to see that Kimura had been similarly successful, but when she tried to take the phaser rifle for herself, she found that it was securely fastened to its owner’s shoulder. Kee dropped it with a frustrated sound.

There wasn’t much time to stew about it, though. The Nausicaans inside had to have heard the commotion. She and Kimura flattened themselves against the wall on either side of the door.

The door slid open without anyone coming through. Kee kept her breathing slow and controlled while they waited.

Soon the tips of two phaser rifles nosed through the open door. Kee grabbed the one closest to her, trusting Kimura to do the same. She lifted it harmlessly away from herself and shoved forward, forcing her opponent to back into the bridge.

In that moment, she took in the space. Besides these two, there was one more Nausicaan, their captain, perhaps, or at least their leader, standing near a console in the rear of the bridge where her father was seated with his nose bloodied and his hands bound.

She continued forcing her opponent backward until he backed into a section of railing. She released her grip on the phaser and wrapped her arms around his neck, then shoved his head into a console. The console shattered and sparked, but the Nausicaan began to straighten up as though nothing had happened.

With her arms still secure around his neck, she lifted both knees up, hanging from his neck, and pulled down with all of her weight to drive the side of his head into her knee. The bony plates of his face dug into her skin painfully, but the Nausicaan himself dropped limp to the floor.

Kee rolled to her feet to see the lead Nausicaan holding a vicious-looking blade to her father’s throat and Kimura restrained at knifepoint by the other one. The threat stopped her for a moment, then she steeled herself to call his bluff. “You won’t kill him.”

“You… believe that?”

“You were hired to steal the core, but you lost it. Now you’ve taken one of the technicians who built it.”

Instead of responding, he flipped the knife over in his fist and buried it deep into her father’s leg.

Her father cried out in pain but unable to do anything with his hands bound.

Fighting to ignore the pain that she understood all too well, she took the chance and pushed further. “Your Romulan employers will already be unhappy about this failure. I doubt you’d throw away your one chance to appease them and still get your money.”

“You are correct… Starfleet. But I do not need… him.” He said and pointed to Kimura.

Sensing his fate, Kimura shoved the knife away from himself and tried in vain to twist out of the Nausicaan’s grip but he plunged the knife into Kimura’s lower abdomen just before Kee got there to help. Using her momentum, she shoved the Nausicaan backward and slammed her knee up into his stomach. Then she turned to land a kick sideways in his chest. He staggered back, more from the momentum than pain or injury.

Kee bent down to Kimura who had crumpled to the floor, holding his hands around the knife handle. The blood pooling under him wasn’t as large as she’d feared and his eyes were still sharp.

“Steady.” She whispered to him, hoping he’d catch her meaning and brace himself. Then she snatched the knife out of his gut, inciting a pained cry from him. With the same movement, she turned and threw the knife at the Nausicaan who had attacked him. The knife sailed through the air and buried deep into his eye socket where his forehead plate left it vulnerable.

Before he’d even hit the floor, Kee was moving toward the lead Nausicaan, vaulting over the console that was between them. She tucked and rolled when she hit the floor, coming up into a partial kneeling position while she swept her leg out to knock his feet out from under him.

He hit the floor with a thud that sounded like a tree trunk and Kee leapt onto him. She grabbed for a handhold but he threw her off while reaching back to grasp the back of her uniform collar.

He twisted the fabric in his hand to tighten it around her neck and cut off her air. He reached around her with his other hand under her jaw and lifted her head so that her cheek pressed against his bony face. “You fail.”

With her lungs burning for air, she wrapped her arms around his, then she dropped and twisted out of his grip, holding onto his arm. Moving behind his back she braced one arm on his shoulder and neck and with the other wrenched his arm back, using her arm as a fulcrum to maximize the pressure.

She pulled back hard enough to hear the tell-tale snap of bone breaking. He roared in pain, but she pulled harder, forcing him to double over. Aiming for the weak point under his jaw, she drove her knee into his neck once, twice, and on the third hit, he fell limp.

Kee let him drop unceremoniously to the floor, and with a quick glance to verify her father was still conscious, she rushed to the door to secure the lock. Once she was sure they’d have no visitors, she hurried to Kimura’s side. He was still conscious, barely.

She grabbed the tricorder that was still on his hip and flipped it open. It wasn’t a medical tricorder, but it would at least tell her how bad the damage was. “It looks like your vest deflected the blade from your vital organs.”

He only barely responded as she reached under his chin and began opening up the two outer layers of his uniform. Blood had soaked into and discolored his yellow-gold undershirt. Then she unfastened the protective vest and tugged the waistband of his pants down away from the wound.

Next Kee pulled off her uniform jacket, then her shirt and balled it up to press against the wound. “Can you hold it yourself?”

“I think so.” He croaked.

“Good.” With that, she picked up the tricorder and her jacket and scrambled over to her father. He looked pale, but conscious. After scanning the wound with the knife still sticking out, she said, “You’re lucky, too. It missed the artery.”

“Lucky.” He managed to say sarcastically through the pain.

She tore the sleeve off of her jacket and ripped it into two strips, tying them together to make one long enough to wrap around his leg. Then she looked up, “This is going to hurt.”

He only nodded, preparing himself.

She grasped the handle of the knife and pulled it free. This time he only let out a pained groan while she quickly tied the substitute bandage around the wound and pulled tight, provoking another pained sound.

“How are you doing, Kimura?” She called.

“Still here.” He said weakly.

Kee searched the unconscious lead Nausicaan for the control to release the restraints on her father’s wrists. They clattered to the floor when she did. As soon as he felt his hands free, he pressed hard against the knife wound while Kee said, “We’re going to need to get that dampening field shut down so we can get you two and the others out of here.”

“I think that console over there is the equivalent of the Starfleet opps station.” He pointed out one of the consoles with a bloody hand.

Kee called up the translation matrix on the tricorder as she moved to the console and scanned it. With the help of the translation, she found the controls for the dampening field and, after a bit of trial and error, finally shut it down. She tapped her commbadge, “Norv to Gyges.”

 _“Kee! I’m glad you’re ok.”_ Loren’s voice came through clearly.

“You should be able to get a transporter lock on us.”

 _“Confirmed.”_ He said.

“Wagner, Rosten, Th’rharek and Vahar are still in the lab, grab them first.”

_“Energizing.”_

She moved back to her father and helped him stand for transport.

A moment later Loren followed with, _“We have them. Locking on to you now.”_

Kee closed her eyes in relief as she felt the transporter take hold of her and the other two.

* * *

As soon as they materialized aboard the Gyges, Kee tapped her commbadge to talk to the officers in the cockpit while also taking stock of the rest of her team. Wagner had recovered and was working with one med kit to stabilize Th’rarek. Vahar and Makgotla were using the other med kit to work on Kimura’s injury and Rosten took Kee’s father from her and helped him limp to a seat. “Disable their engines and get us back to Endeavor as fast as possible. I don’t want them going anywhere until somebody can come and pick them up.” She told the cockpit.

_“Acknowledged.”_

She sat down at a console and used her SI clearance to locate all Starfleet ships in the area. The USS Noble was currently the closest at Starbase 718. She drafted a quick request for the Noble to come and collect the criminals. She hated to leave a mess for somebody else to clean up, but had to get both her father and the core as far away from the area as possible.

Before sending the message, she wrote up a quick message to Jeff regarding the intel on the Romulans’ involvement in the incident. After encrypting it, she piggybacked it onto the message regarding the Noble and sent the whole bundle.

Unfortunately, that meant that she could anticipate more run-ins with Nausicaans in the near future.

* * *

After Kee and her father had been released from sickbay he insisted on going to lower cargo bay two to check on their core. After a lengthy and very technical conversation with the other scientists and Endeavor’s chief engineer he was finally satisfied that it was safe. As they walked alone down the corridor outside of the cargo bay she asked him, “Do you want to grab a cup of coffee? The mess hall should be deserted at this hour.”

“Definitely.”

They reached a turbolift and rode it to the mess hall on deck two. When they entered, it was dimly lit and empty, they’d have privacy for the conversation she was both anxious to begin and terrified of. She moved to the wall where the captain had a coffee machine installed and requested two cups. Turning to her father, she asked, “Sugar?”

“No, black.”

She turned back, tapping in commands to add a double portion of sugar and cream to hers.

As she handed the dark drink to him and held her own, which was a significantly lighter color, he chuckled lightly, “Would you like some coffee in that cream and sugar?”

Kee couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter that was hard enough to almost make her spill her coffee. “That’s exactly what Joial says.”

He smiled wider, evidently pleased to hear that he and his brother still had the same sense of humor.

Together they sat on one of the couches near the windows. She tried to hide the shaking of her hands, but the ripples in the surface of the beverage gave it away, so she lowered it into her lap.

He breathed in the smell of the coffee for a moment. “It’s been nine years since I’ve had anything non-replicated.”

“It must have been unsettling to be stuck down there for so long.”

“They did everything they could to make us comfortable, but it was still a hole in a rock.” He lifted his cup partway to take a drink, then lowered it back down to his lap and began hesitantly, “First off, I should tell you that the Cardassians were right. I was passing information to the Resistance.”

She felt her mouth hang open for a moment. She had always believed that those charges were false. That’s what she’d been told by both her mother and Joial. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

He raised his eyebrows at her, “Would you have told something like that to a seven-year-old and a couple of ten-year-olds?”

He had a point. “I guess not. Did mother know?”

He shifted uncomfortably, “No.”

“Oohhh, you’re in trouble!” She laughed.

He nodded, “I know. She’ll be mad.” He moved back on to his story, “So, Joial and I…”

She felt a twinge of anger spiking in her mind. “Wait. Joial knew?” 

“Yes, we did it together.”

“Why wouldn’t he have told me this?”

He spread his hands as best he could while holding a cup of coffee. “I don’t know. Maybe he was honoring my wishes to keep all of you out of it.”

Another thought occurred to her, “Did he know you were still alive?”

He shook his head, “I doubt it. As far as I know there were only two people who knew and they’re both dead now.”

“Ok, so you and Joial were working in that records office and passing on information that you came across…” She said, prompting him back into the narrative.

“Actually, it wasn’t quite as simple as that. We weren’t just passing on what we happened to see. We were hacking into their systems and digging up sensitive information, _then_ passing it on to the Resistance.”

“What? No wonder you got caught!”

He laughed, “At one point we pulled a file that had a level of encryption that we’d never seen before. I tried for weeks to crack it and got nothing. We continued on like normal, but that one encryption ate at me, I couldn’t get it out of my mind, so I kept at it. Worked on it every free moment I could find, then one day the whole thing decoded, just like that.” He snapped his fingers in a very Human gesture.

“What was in the file?” She was caught up in the story now.

“I don’t remember exactly what it said, but it was highly classified information. I memorized a cypher for it and passed it over to the Resistance immediately. Then started digging around for more files with that same encryption. But, like you said, of course we got caught. Or, at least, I did.”

A pang of sadness hit her as she remembered the day Cardassian soldiers had come into their home and dragged him away from them. As exciting as his story had been up until that point, it had all led to one of the most painful moments in her life.

“Because I was the only one who could decipher the coded messages, two of the members of the Resistance cell we’d been working with came up with a plan to get me out and put it into motion without my knowledge. They got themselves arrested and had bribed a guard to put them into the same cell with me. One of them, who bore a strong resemblance to me, stole my earring and picked a fight with a guard and intentionally got himself killed.” He paused.

“He sacrificed himself so the other man could get you out.” She finished it for him.

He nodded. “A man had given his life in exchange for mine. I couldn’t bring myself to refuse the rest of the plan.” He took a breath, “He smuggled me out of the sector and some acquaintances of his set me up with a false identity. I found a menial job at Starbase 310 that would give me free access to a comm system.” He paused again and took a sip of his coffee. “The Resistance began sending me these encrypted files which I would decrypt and send back.”

Kee waived her free hand in the air to interrupt, “Wait, wait, wait! _You_ were The Cypher?!”

He laughed nervously, “I don’t know who that is.”

She shook her head at this revelation, “He was a highly trusted but anonymous contact that sent us decrypted Cardassian documents from outside of the system! I received some of those messages myself!”

Shocking her, he uttered the familiar challenge phrase, “ _What lies in the shadow of B'hava'el?_ ”

Without hesitating she responded with, “ _They who will save us all._ ” They both laughed as they realized that they had communicated many times without having realized it. “The intelligence you sent saved many lives. Including my own.”

“So, you _were_ in the resistance?” He asked.

“Yes, but we’re still talking about _you_ now. What else happened.”

“Well, at one point my supervisor at the Starbase realized that I had some skill with the computer. I had wanted to remain in the position I was in so that I could continue to provide support for the Resistance, but he maneuvered things in such a way that I got transferred into a higher position. I continued to work on the encryptions, but my new position made it a lot harder.”

He took another sip of his coffee. “After a few more inadvertent promotions I was asked to assist with building the computer systems on this project. By then the Occupation was over and the Resistance no longer needed me. Eventually I knew the system better than anybody else and was selected as one of the four specialists to work at the base in Epsilon Librae.”

He reached over and took her hand, “If I’d known then what I know now, I would have reached out to you in a heartbeat.”

She allowed him to hold her hand in silence. It wasn’t a perfect explanation, but an acceptable one. And Prophets knew she was nowhere near perfect herself.

“So, now it’s your turn.” He said, sitting back against the cushions and waiting.

She shook herself out of his tale to begin her own. She’d told her story many times with varying degrees of details, but suddenly she felt hesitant.

* * *

“Chief of Security on a starship. You seem to have done well.” Falam began when Keedra hesitated.

“I guess so. I just do my job and they keep promoting me.” She said with a self-conscious laugh.

“That’s good.” He chuckled, surprised to see such a timid side of her. “So, what’s your life like?”

“Stretches of monotonous busy work. Diagnostics, upgrades, training, drills and things like that. Punctuated by brief periods of mortal danger. You know… the life of security officers.” She shrugged. “I, um, got married a few years ago.” She offered.

He felt a smile spread across his lips. “That’s wonderful. I’d like to meet him.”

“You already have, actually. He’s our Chief Helmsman.”

“A pilot!?”

“Don’t you start!” She said with a laugh. “Ren and Joial have already given me a hard enough time about it. We’ve known each other since the Academy, he really is a great guy. You’ll see when you get to know him.”

He shook his head, in all their interactions, he’d picked up on something less than formal between the two, but he’d had no idea.

“And,” She continued, “We have a little girl, she’s three. I guess that makes you a grandfather.”

“I can’t wait to meet her!” He said enthusiastically. He’d been so hesitant for so many years, not knowing if any of his family was alive, and now he even had a granddaughter.

“Her name is Iliah. She’s…” she shook her head, “something else.”

“Where is she now? Are you able to have her aboard ship?”

“She’s on the ship with us.” There was that self-conscious laugh again. “The captain didn’t want to risk me leaving, so we’ve made it work. The chief engineer’s husband, Andrew, takes care of Iliah and their own little guy during the day, and he keeps a bed for her in their quarters for days like these where Loren and I both have to be on duty late. I’ll take you to meet her when she’s awake.”

“I’d love to.” He felt his smile drop away. There was more that he needed to know. “You said something before about the Resistance. I take it you joined at some point?”

She nodded slowly and his heart sank. “Do you remember that hideous mural Glinn Conolo had made?” She asked. “The one of him as some kind of noble benefactor to the camp residents.”

“Yeah, he couldn’t find anybody in the camp willing to do it, so he had to bring in some collaborator from Musilla.” He said, recalling the details of the scandal and wondering where she was going with this.

“That’s the one. Well, someone modified it one night. They repainted it to give him exaggerated… ah… _feminine attributes_.” She said with a laugh and he joined her.

“I bet he was mad.”

“Livid.” She said. “It was very well done, too. But nobody knew who had done it.”

Knowing how Cardassians dealt with unsolved crimes, he had a feeling what happened next.

“Conolo was convinced that it was some kids that had done it, so he had four of us picked up at random to stand trial. I was one of them.”

He wasn’t sure what hit him harder, the statement itself or how emotionlessly she said it. He knew very well what it meant to be arrested and processed by the Cardassians as a criminal. How they treated the accused even before a trial was set. To know that his little girl had gone through that herself… “When was this? How old were you?”

“I was eleven.”

The flat statement hit him like a knife to the chest, but she continued.

“Joial used his connections in the Resistance to arrange a rescue. They pulled us out and were going to send us to a safe house, but we refused to go. We wanted to join them. It took a bit of convincing, but they finally let us stay.”

He forced a smile, “I seem to remember you could be extremely persuasive.”

She continued the story of her tragedy-filled childhood, or lack of. Told him about being trained by the Resistance, disabling the sensor towers, about being arrested and escaping many times over and fighting alongside his own brother. She told him about watching helplessly while people died, about the people she’d lost, about when Kershtd died and how she wasn’t there for her mother and Edda. Then about her experiences that led to her joining Starfleet. They talked for hours, telling him everything in any level of detail he wanted.

Through the summery of her life, two realizations formed side-by-side in his mind: the heartache she’d endured all those years along with the courage to not only survive but conquer and flourish in the end. The way she’d faced those Nausicaans so fearlessly all made sense now.

Trying to find an easier subject, he asked, “What about your Itanu? What did you do to observe it?”

Instead of the effect he was hoping for, the opposite occurred and she pursed her lips with a sigh. “We didn’t, actually. Some of the others had wanted to do something, but then things got pretty bad for a while, we lost a lot of people. When it came time for my Itanu, I just wanted to let it pass without attention.”

Of course, the Jorallan massacres would have been right around that time. He instantly regretted bringing it up. “What about Edda? Did he join the Resistance too?”

Keedra scoffed, “No.”

“Am I missing something?”

She shook her head, “You’ll pick up on it soon enough, he detests the Resistance. Wants nothing to do with it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I think it’s an excuse. I’m really the one he has an issue with. He seems to get along fine with Joial.” He saw her glance at the chronometer on the wall console. “Iliah’s probably up by now. She gets up at a ridiculous time in the mornings.”

“Let’s go meet her, then.”

After placing their cups in the replicator, they headed out toward a turbolift. “I don’t want to tell her yet who you really are just yet. I need to be able to explain things to her, you know how three-year-olds are.”

He laughed as they boarded a turbolift, “Yes, I do.”

“Good. It’ll just take a minute, then we should be able to contact the rest of the family back home.” Then to the computer she said, “Deck three.” The turbolift hummed as it brought them to the location she requested. When the doors opened, they walked a short distance down the corridor to Lieutenant Brisk’s quarters and she pressed the key on the door pad.

“Come.” Andrew’s voice came faintly from the other side of the door and Kee stepped forward to trigger it to open. When they entered, they found a young man awkwardly sitting on a tiny chair at a tiny table with a baby on his lap. Across from him on a matching tiny chair sat Iliah, immediately identifiable as Keedra’s daughter. As soon as she saw her mother she dropped what she was doing and ran to her with her arms outstretched.

“Hey, baby!” Keedra scooped her up for a hug.

Andrew’s brow furrowed, “Is there something wrong?”

Keedra shifted her daughter over to her hip, “No. I just wanted say good morning and to introduce her to my friend.”

Falam held his arms out to Iliah and she leaned over to bound enthusiastically into his arms. Overwhelmed with the mix of emotions, he almost forgot to smile. He only found out a day ago his daughter was alive and now he was holding his baby’s baby. He gazed down at the tiny face that looked so much like Keedra’s.

“The ship _shook_ yesterday!” She exclaimed. “We were coloring and everything went _pvfroosh_.” She said with a flourish of her hands. “And I told baby Richard that it would be ok. My mommy would keep us safe.”

“She did, didn’t she?”

“Uh huh! And we had _cake_ for breakfast!” Iliah told him.

As he laughed, Keedra turned a disapproving look toward Andrew who shook his head and sighed, “We had _oatmeal muffins_ and decorated them to _look_ like cakes.”

Finally, Iliah wiggled to the floor and ran back over to the tiny table where it looked like she was busy disassembling a padd and didn’t even look up when they said goodbye.

“I need to take care of a few things and get some rest, then I’ll be by in a few hours to pick her up.” Keedra said as she moved toward the door.

“Take your time.” Andrew called back while he bent over to supervise what Iliah was doing.

When the doors closed, Falam said, “She looks just like you did at that age.” Then added, “A little less mud on her face, though.”

She smiled, “One of the hazards of growing up on a starship: not enough dirt.” They walked back to the turbolift and she ordered it to take them down one level.

He walked with mixed feelings of anticipation and dread to his guest quarters that had likely been assigned to him many hours ago. He’d imagined for years being reunited with his family again. Finding out what they’ve done with their lives, how his children had grown up. Seeing his beautiful wife again. But twenty-three years was a long time. Keedra hadn’t said anything either way about whether Jora had moved on and found somebody else. He wanted to be with her again, but hated the thought that she’d been alone all these years. Neither option was particularly appealing, but he was about to find out.

* * *

Kee sat down at the console and initiated the subspace link. She waited long moments for one of her family members to answer, she hoped it wouldn’t be Edda, but soon his irritable face appeared on the screen. “What do you want?” More words than he’d spoken to her in the last year, at least.

She sighed, “Can you get Mother and Joial. I have something I need to talk to the three of you about.”

He didn’t budge. “Whatever it is, just tell me and I’ll give them the message.”

She pursed her lips together, holding her temper in check, she was too tired for his games. “This is something I need to talk to all three of you about.”

“You think we’re all just waiting around to be available any time you decide to call home?” He said with a sneer. “They’re busy.”

She nearly snapped a response back at him, but worked reigned in her anger. “I don’t have the energy argue with you right now.” She sighed and pressed her hand against her forehead.

Edda’s brow furrowed, “Is that blood on your hand?”

She looked and there was a small smudge on her left hand from some point during the long, exhausting day.

He didn’t wait for a response, “Is it yours or somebody else’s?” He said, his eyes narrowing. He took advantage of any opportunity to criticize her for a lifestyle where there was frequently blood on her hands. Literally and figuratively. She resisted the urge to tell him that it would be his blood there soon. Fortunately, he pushed himself away from the console before she could reply.

Her father, who had been watching the exchange from a place beyond the range of the comm, gave her a sympathetic smile. After waiting a few minutes, the faces of her three family members appeared together on the screen.

“What is it, sweetheart?” Her mother asked.

“I have someone that I think you’ll be happy to see.” Certain that they would recognize him much more quickly than she had, she stood up to allow her father to sit.

As he sat down his face broke into a warm smile, “Jora! Edda! Joial!”

The response that erupted through the comm was unintelligible. She could pick out emotions: surprise, joy, uncertainty, but words were lost in the jumble. As the reunion continued Kee suddenly felt overwhelmed by fatigue. She laid down on the nearby couch just to rest her head but ended up drifting off to sleep.


	9. She smiled to herself (Epilogue)

Falam reclined in the pilot seat of the runabout T'roth. The autopilot was effectively maintaining their course and would alert them if anything came into sensor range. Endeavor had made its way to Starbase 781 to offload their Nausicaan guests and receive orders regarding the project. Starfleet assigned Kee’s ship to search for another suitable location for their new lab. When their hunt brought them closer to the B’hava’el system, he had decided to use that opportunity to take a long-overdue trip home.

Starfleet had resisted letting him leave the relative safety of a starship without a security escort. Kee was the obvious choice. She and Iliah were in the rear compartment together. He took a moment to appreciate that month he’d been able to spend with them.

If he hadn’t been so eager to see the rest of his family, he would have enjoyed taking a much longer trip with the two of them. He liked the idea of getting to know the strong and dedicated woman his Keedra had become and Iliah was an amazingly bright little girl and so much fun to teach. He’d already taught her the basics of Xindi encryption protocols, earning him a scowl from Kee.

He’d been so deep in thought, he almost jumped when Kee set a cup of coffee down next to him on the console. “I’ll take over if you’d like a break.” She offered.

“That sounds like a good idea.” He said as he picked up the cup, but before he could stand up, the computer beeped urgently, immediately turning his attention to it. “There’s a ship approaching on long range sensors.”

Kee leaned over his shoulder and reached down to tap a few controls. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her lips curl into a smile. “It’s the Krehu.”

Just as she said it, the comm panel indicated a hail and she slipped into the co-pilot seat to open the channel.

A middle-aged Bajoran man in a Starfleet uniform with captain’s provisional rank insignia on his collar appeared on the side vewscreen.

“Ren!” Kee greeted him.

Falam recalled her talking about her former leader a number of times. He thought he recognized the name from his early-on dealings with the Resistance, but was certain they’d never had any direct contact back then.

Ren smiled warmly back. “I heard that you were passing through, and thought we could make the rest of your journey a little more comfortable.”

“I won’t argue with that!” She said emphatically.

“That’s a first.” Ren teased and Kee’s smiled widened slightly. “We’ll reach your position within a few minutes. Cut your engines and we’ll bring your runabout into the shuttle bay.”

“Coming to a stop now.” Kee said as she obeyed. “See you soon.” She said with a sideways glance just before she closed the channel and looked over at him. “I hope you don’t mind me answering for you.”

“No, it sounds good. This place is starting to feel a little cramped.”

There was an almost imperceptible shift in the sound of the engines as they dropped out of warp and waited for the larger ship.

“That’s an old pre-occupation ship.” He observed from the warp signature.

“Command keeps trying to give him a newer Starfleet ship, but he’s been putting it off. You know how captains can be.”

He was about to comment that he didn’t know personally, but he’d heard that when Iliah ran into the forward section. “We stopped!”

Kee pulled her into her lap and reached around her to continue preparing the ship. “We’re going to be aboard the Krehu for the rest of the trip.”

“Will Jayur be there?!” She squealed.

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t be.”

The old, tan-colored ship loomed closer in the viewport. A few standard communications passed back and forth between Kee and the shuttle bay operator before a tractor beam reached out and took hold of them.

“Iliah, go get your things.” Kee told her, shooing the little girl into the aft compartment. Falam followed to get his bag as well, finding her already hard at work gathering up her toys that she’d spread out everywhere over the last few days. He held her bag open for her while she crammed everything inside. By the time she was finished, he could hear the sounds of the runabout going silent as Kee began the shutdown procedure.

Iliah’s tiny hand grasped his as they followed Kee out the side hatch of the runabout.

“Ren!” Kee called out in an uncharacteristically animated voice as she took a few long strides toward him and threw herself into his arms.

Falam held back for a moment until they’d released each other. Iliah was next to greet Ren, following her mother’s example as he lifted her up and over his head. When he set her down he casually wrapped an arm around Kee’s shoulder.

“Ren, this is my father.” She introduced him.

Falam reached his hand out in the Human greeting and introduced himself. “Falam.”

“It’s good to finally meet you,” He said warmly. “Kee’s been telling me all about you. It’s an honor to meet the Cypher.”

He shrugged it off as best he could. “I was just glad to do anything to help the Resistance.”

The doors behind them opened and a young Lieutenant in a gold uniform approached.

“Jayur!” Iliah squealed and ran to him.

Kee turned to greet him. “Jayur! How have you been?”

Jayur bent to lift the little girl onto his hip, “I can’t complain.” He said, “You know, or he’d assign me to waste extraction.” He added, jabbing a thumb at his Captain.

“Keep it up…” Ren warned good-naturedly.

Jayur turned to Iliah, “Hey. I have something to show you in engineering if that’s ok with your mother.”

Kee waved her consent and the two hurried away.

“Come, I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.” Ren said.

* * *

When they entered the guest quarters, Falam was reminded of how different Bajoran aesthetics were from Starfleet. He’d become accustomed to muted colors and minimalist lines, but this room, while compact, efficient and distinctly military, was furnished with bold colors, draped fabrics and the circular styles typical of Bajoran designs.

He dropped his bag in an appropriate location and motioned to the couch as an invitation for Kee and Ren to say a while.

“I’ve want to thank you for taking care of my daughter all those years.”

Ren brushed off the gratitude as Falam had earlier. “Believe me, it was often the other way around.” He reached around to rest his arm on the back of the couch behind her. “I couldn’t have asked for a better Second.”

Kee rolled her eyes so hard that her head nodded back with the movement. “You two are so _Hu'tegh_ dramatic.”

The Klingon curse rolled so easily off of her tongue that it took him back for a moment even though he’d heard her curse, quite creatively, a number of times during the last month. “That’s another thing. Are you the one who taught her that kind of language?” He joked.

“Absolutely not.” Ren said adamantly. “ _I_ taught her to swear in _Bajoran_.”

Kee snorted a laugh, “Must have picked up some bad habits since then.”

“Yeah, that Starfleet’s sure a bad influence.” Ren emphasized while tugging on his collar.

Kee only snickered and leaned against him with familiar affection.

* * *

Kee materialized in the clearing at the rear of her family’s home with her father and daughter. She looked over to see his face upturned into the drizzling rain with a smile curling the corner of his lips.

“I’ve missed Jorallan weather.” He said.

Kee smiled at him, “Wait five minutes, it’ll change.” The old saying came to mind that if one couldn’t see the Jorallan mountain range, that meant it was raining, but if you _could_ see the mountains, it was _going_ to rain.

They’d barely gotten damp from the drizzle by the time four figures appeared out of the house. Kee’s mother broke into an immediate run and her father stepped forward to meet her. They wrapped their arms around each other and still hadn’t parted by the time Edda reached them. Without a word, the two added him to their embrace.

Kee held back to give the others an opportunity to greet the man who’d been missing from their lives for so long.

Interrupting her appreciation of the reunion, Iliah dashed off toward Taybe, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the house with incoherent jabber.

Joial stepped closer to Kee and wrapped his arms around her. She enjoyed his warm embrace for a moment before pulling back. “Where’s Rahnah?”

“She’s making a delivery, she’ll be here later.”

“That’s still happening?”

He made a long, drawn out, non-comital sound. “I’ll tell you about that later.”

Kee looked out over the lush greenery topped by a low, grey sky. “It’s been so long since I’ve been planet side, it feels a little odd.” She thought out loud. The last few missions she’d been on with Jeff were entirely in space. The gravity was… different, and there was a noticeable lack of engine vibration coming through the soles of her shoes.

“You know what else is odd?” Joial muttered to her.

Her internal alarm immediately went off, “What?”

“Numbers that are not divisible by two.” He said in a complete deadpan tone.

Kee parsed his statement in her mind before the meaning dawned on her. She sighed heavily and jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow just hard enough to make sure it hurt.

A stifled grunt escaped through his laughter. She suppressed her own laughter. Best not to encourage him.

Kee’s father turned to see his brother and greeted him, “Joial!”

“Fal, I’ve got some complaints about your _wife_.” He joked. They laughed and embraced.

* * *

Kee sat cross-legged on her family’s living room floor surrounded by padds. With Endeavor scouting out a location for the new research base, Starfleet had assigned her the task of mapping out the new security system. The padds around her displayed various options for weaponry and shielding, resource usage statistics and simulation scenarios. The goal was to make it safe without necessarily turning it into a resource-consuming fortress.

She sat up and arched her back to stretch when she heard her mother’s soft footsteps enter the room behind her. “What’s all this?” She asked.

“Work.” She said simply. None of it could be considered classified, but a detailed explanation wouldn’t be appropriate.

Her mother sat down on the couch across from Kee’s work area. “You should take some time and relax.” The words were considerate, but her tone was disapproving.

“Relax? Mother, I’m not here on vacation.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I’m here on business. I’m working.”

“Business? This is your home. What kind of business do you have to do here?” In just those two statements, her tone had turned defensive then combative.

“Father is very important to the Federation. Whoever hired those thugs to attack the outpost are still out there and there’s a chance they could try again. I’m not here to visit my family or take a vacation, I’m here to protect a Federation asset.”

She stared at the padds on the floor. “I take it he’s planning to go back.”

“Of course he’s going back. They can’t restart the project without him.”

“We just got him back, how can he leave again?”

“This project is important. It could drastically change the way ships produce a warp field.”

“‘Warp fields!’ I don’t care about warp fields! He belongs on Bajor with his family.”

“He spent the last eleven years working on this. Gave up nine of those years to live in a hole in a rock! You can’t ask him to just walk away.”

“I need him. Now more than ever. Especially with this mess with the business.”

Kee’s temper softened. “I know. Joial told me. The thing is that as replicators become more and more common, the problem is only going to get worse.”

“They’re driving us out of business!”

“I’m sure they are.” She said reasonably, “There will always be a market for real food, especially given Bajoran culture, but from now on it will be far less than it has been in the past. The suppliers will have to adjust to that. And as the economy changes over from the lita to the credit, things will change even more. But maybe that’s a good thing.”

“How can going out of business be a good thing?”

“Maybe this is your chance to do something else.”

“I can’t do anything else, this is all I’ve ever known.”

“What about the work you used to do as a medic? You loved that.”

“Taking care of cuts and scrapes hardly made me a medic. Not even an armature one.” She insisted, even though Kee knew she’d treated far worse injuries than that.

“That’s just a matter of training. You loved doing it and you were good at what you did know. It’s all about helping people who are suffering.” Something dawned on her, “I could arrange a security clearance for you so you could go to the new lab with Father and take some correspondence courses in medicine.”

“I can’t leave Bajor!”

“Just temporarily until his project is done. Then you can come back and continue your education here.”

Her expression softened, but then she shut down again. “What about your brother and Joial? I can’t leave them here to deal with this mess.”

“Joial will be fine. There must be hundreds of jobs out there he’d be well qualified for. Keeping books for a small business is a waste of his skills. And Edda… he’s not happy here either. This could mean a new start for all of you. You’re finally free to do what you _want_ to do, not what you _have_ to do to survive. You’ve lived your entire life focused only on survival. We all did. But now you can finally choose what you do with your life.”

Her mother didn’t respond, but they both new that wasn’t the end of the argument. Kee’d made her point and it was up to her mother to accept or reject it. There was nothing more to say, so she turned back to her padds.

After a long silence, her mother spoke, “How is Iliah’s father doing?”

“He has a name, Mother.” She said irritably without looking up from her work.

“Fine. How is Lorbon doing?” She said, intentionally mispronouncing his name.

Kee sighed heavily. “He’s fine.”

“If things don’t work out with him, Tiken is still available.”

Kee felt her temper surge again, but kept her voice even. “Things are fine between _Loren_ and me. Just because we weren’t married by a Vedic doesn’t mean it won’t last.” She repeated the nearly four year old argument for what felt like the thousandth time.

“If you had let me arrange for a ceremony when you were home for Iliah’s birth-”

“I told you _then_ , having another ceremony would suggest that the first one was invalid.”

“A Vedic wasn’t even present!”

“A captain is legally empowered-”

“I don’t mean legally! How can you be married in the eyes of the Prophets if there was no Vedic?”

“How many marriages were performed during the Occupation without a Vedic because they couldn’t practice openly?”

Of course, the old argument was never about religion. In her mother’s mind, as long as she was married to a Human, she would never come home permanently. As though that were the only reason. Sure enough, the next words out of her mouth were to that effect.

“When are you going to come home? You wouldn’t have to leave Starfleet. I’m sure you could get reassigned to Bajor, or even the station.”

It was true, she could. And there were parts of that scenario that were very appealing to her, but… “You know I can’t do that. I’m not out there because that’s where I was assigned. I’m out there because that’s where I want to be. That’s where I can make a difference. When I think of home, it will always be Bajor, but I live _out there_ , and I _will_ die out there.” There was more truth to that statement than her mother could possibly know.

She looked at Kee like she was just a defiant teenager. “If things had been different for you, maybe you wouldn’t feel that way now.”

“You may be right, but this life here was never meant for me. The things I went through changed me, true, but this is what I was always meant to be.”

“You’re a Bajoran. You were _meant_ to be on Bajor with your family. Nothing should ever change that.”

“You don’t understand.”

“How can I? You don’t tell me anything. You never have. I want to understand, to sympathize with what you went through, but even when I was _there_ , you wouldn’t talk to me about it.”

“If I told you, it would hurt you too much.”

“I don’t care. I’m your mother, I share your pain to matter what.”

Kee finally dropped the padd she was holding, tired of being pushed like this. “Fine. You want to know some of it? How about the time I killed a Cardassian civilian? She came at me with a kitchen knife and I blew a hole in her chest. Or the time we saved some girls the same age I was from becoming sex slaves? Only we didn’t make it in time for one of them.” She felt her cheeks flush with heat. “Or the time I watched a friend tortured horribly? Watched while they mutilated his body, and the whole time I had the very information they were looking for!” She pushed herself to her feet and took a few steps away to regain control.

Her mother was silent for long moments. “I can see we can’t have a conversation about this.” She said sanctimoniously. “With what _that Ren_ did to you, making you into some version of himself, turning you against me-”

“Don’t blame him! What he _did_ was teach me to do what was necessary to free our people. Even Father recognizes that. I’ve only been with him for a month, but he knows me _that_ well, at least.”

“And I don’t know you anymore at all! I feel like I’m losing you.”

“If that’s what you really think. If you can’t accept who I’ve become and the decisions I’ve made to get here, then you lost me a long time ago.” She felt like storming out, but couldn’t leave padds with sensitive tactical data laying around. “Look, I still have fourteen simulations where the majority of people would die in an attack. I need to get back to work.”

“I’ll leave you alone, then.” She said and stormed away.

* * *

Falam leaned against the railing of the balcony on the upper level of his wife’s family’s home holding a cup of deca tea. He looked out onto the large back area of the property that sloped down into the lake some distance away. Jora had told him about growing up here, but he’d never expected to see it himself. His nephew and granddaughter played together near the water, throwing stones in to see who could make the biggest splash. He could still remember he and his brother at those same ages doing exactly the same thing.

Off to the side Kee worked to clear a mess of twisted, vining weeds in what appeared to be the last untamed section of the property. The door behind him opened and closed and he soon found his brother standing next to him. “She is determined to conquer that patch of weeds.” Joial informed him.

“‘Determined’ is a word I’ve found myself using often to describe her.”

“Sounds about right.”

They watched her for a few minutes, enjoying the crisp morning air. As Kee turned to shift the pile she’d been creating he could see the tattoo on her back clearly. It brought his mind back to their talk the first night after they’d been reunited. She’d been very open and honest with him about her time in the Resistance despite how difficult it must have been to talk about. When she talked about her life now, however, he got the distinct feeing that there was something she wasn’t telling him.

“Is there something going on with Kee?” He finally asked.

“Tons. Can you be more specific?”

“I don’t know. When we were aboard her ship, it seemed like she was hiding something.”

“Nah. That’s just the way she is. She’s very guarded about certain things. And I’m sure there are plenty of things with her job that she can’t share.”

“You’re probably right.” He shrugged off the concern while they watched her set down her shovel and bend down to pick something up. Whatever it was, she cupped it gently in her hands and carried it away from where she was working to set it down safely. As she moved away he could see a brown worm wiggling around to get itself back into the dirt. He shook his head. “She’s a hard one to figure out, though. She doesn’t think twice about killing an enemy, yet she carefully saves the life of a worm.” He said without a hint of judgement.

“Well, that worm’s innocent.” Joial said as though it were obvious. “But you’re wrong, she doesn’t just think twice but many times about each and every life she takes. She responds instantly because that’s how she was trained, how she learned to survive, but each and every one weighs on her. She constantly questions herself and her motives. But on the other side of it, if she fails to act and an innocent suffers because of it, it hits her even more deeply.”

“She gets that intense compassion from her mother.”

“I agree. And the obsession with justice from you. Remember, it was your idea to help the Resistance in the first place. I was the voice of reason. Combine those two things and you end up with an ex-terrorist Starfleet officer who will do and give anything to help anybody who needs her.”

“I can see that.”

They watched her for a few minutes, but before he could say more, the door opened again and Jora’s voice broke through, “You two should be ashamed of yourselves, standing here, watching her work without helping? Get down there!”

With that they were shooed away to help Kee work.

* * *

“… so, the water reclamation service will provide all of the equipment and enzymatic compounds to clean the toxins out of the water, but there’s no one available to actually do the work.” Edda said, spreading his hands out in a frustrated gesture.

Kee walked in from one of the room’s two doorways, tossed a padd to Falam and headed toward the other door without a word.

He flipped the padd over and saw the title, _Automated and Manned Security System Proposal for X-project at TBD Location. Authorization required:_____________

“Is this the final draft?” He called after her.

She leaned part way back into the room, “Yep, I just submitted it.”

“Everybody survived this time?”

“Eh, anybody important at least.” She called back to him, already out of the room.

Edda scoffed harshly.

“What?”

“You’d think she’d take that more seriously.” He said in a tone that conveyed much more disdain than the words alone.

“What happened between you two, anyway?” He said, trying to avoid coming across as antagonistic.

“Nothing.” He said, shaking his head and trying to brush it off. He continued when Falam didn’t back down. “She claims that she cares about our people, but she deserted Bajor while we still needed everybody to help rebuild. Just like when she ran away to the Resistance while the rest of us suffered because of them.”

Despite the harshness of Edda’s harsh words, Falam remained passive, “I don’t buy that. The safety of the Federation is the safety of Bajor. And as for the Resistance, the last thirteen years have proven that what they did was necessary to expel the Cardassians.”

“That doesn’t mean the things they did weren’t reckless.”

He was beginning to understand now. “You know her cell wasn’t involved with Kershtd’s death. In fact, they wouldn’t work with that cell after it happened.”

“They were all the same. Everything they did just harmed the rest of us.”

“You can’t blame the Cardassian retaliation on the Resistance.”

Edda threw his hands up. “Of course you’re on _her_ side.”

“I’m not on _anybody’s_ side. There shouldn’t even be ‘sides’ between the two of you.” He sighed heavily, not sure if he even had a right to get involved. “Cut your sister a little slack, she works really hard at what she does. She puts her life on the line over and over for others without hesitation.”

“I’m sure she does a very good job showing up, waving the Starfleet flag then strolling off to avoid the repercussions of whatever they did to ‘solve’ it.”

“That’s not the way it is at all. Starfleet officers are held to high standards. Everything they do is extensively scrutinized for ethicality.”

“Everybody has their own version of ethics.”

“True. Which means you have to actually look at what people do before you dismiss their motives as unethical or self-serving.” He sighed. “If you and your sister would sit down and actually have a conversation together…”

“It always ends up with an argument anyway.”

“She said the same thing. But she _wants_ to have a good relationship with you. You’re lucky to have each other at all, many people didn’t make it through the Occupation with any family left. I hate to see you waste the time you have together.”

Edda was silent.

“Think about it, at least?”

“Fine.”

* * *

Falam sat at a desk on the ground level of the house and called up a new message for him that had arrived from Dr. Waits. He watched out the window while the computer retrieved the file. Kee and Joial were out there on the grass. One of them seemed to have challenged the other to a sparring match because they were currently attempting to wrestle each other to the ground, except that they were both laughing so hard neither of them could keep their balance.

He relished the expressions of joy on the faces of his daughter and baby brother. They certainly had something special between them, often communicating in some kind of shorthand that only they understood or making each other laugh with nothing more than a look. Rahnah had said something a few days earlier about them not being allowed to be on the same team when playing games because there was no defeating the two of them. He was pleased they had each other.

Finally, Joial made some kind of awkward move that caused them to go tumbling to the ground. He could hear them both laughing as they laid on the ground, “What was that?!” Kee asked between giggles.

“I call it the ‘knock Kee flat on her back’ move.” Joial said proudly, and the two pulled themselves to their knees, laughing so hard they could hardly breathe.

“Totally not fair!” She accused.

“You’ve been in Starfleet for ten years. There is no ‘unfair’!”

Interrupting his eavesdropping, the computer began playing his message. _“Roner…excuse me, Norvish,”_ She corrected herself. _“Good news! We’ve found a suitable location for our new lab. It’s an older facility on the outskirts of a lunar settlement in the Inkarian system. Starfleet is working on modifying and upgrading the equipment now. We’ll need you to join us within three weeks. I’ll attach the details at the end of this message. I hope your time with your family is going well, and we’ll see you soon. Waits out.”_

Falam sighed, no more pretending, now they had some difficult decisions to make. But he had some research to do first.

* * *

Kee’s mother went from shock to fury in a split second, “They can’t just take you away from us!”

Her father didn’t even flinch, “Jora, you know I have to go back and continue the project. I can’t just leave it.” She stood up as though she was going to storm off but he reached out to grasp her hand gently. “Just listen for a minute.”

She stood motionless for a moment before giving in and sitting back down, but her anger was still clear. Kee was amazed at how easily he could steady her temper.

“I asked around and the Lonar Medical Institute has several years’ worth of courses that can be taken correspondence. I asked Kee to put in a request for security clearance for you, my colleagues have no problem with you staying with us. After my part of the project is done, we can come home for you to continue at the Institute in person.” He squeezed her hand, “It’s what you’ve always wanted to do, isn’t it?”

Her face relaxed and her posture softened as she pondered the idea.

“I could pull some strings to make sure you get in.” He sweetened the deal.

She looked like she was about to accept the offer, but then frowned. “I couldn’t possibly leave Bajor.”

“Why not?” When she didn’t have an answer, he pushed farther, “Bajor will always be our home, it will always be part of us, but that doesn’t mean we have to be trapped here.”

“But what about Edda and Joial, what about the business? I have responsibilities too.” She insisted, clearly having dismissed Kee’s argument earlier.

“You said yourself that Federation membership has changed things around here. With Bajor converting to a non-currency-based economy, you have the freedom to try other things. To do what you want with your life without worrying about paying bills. Edda could keep the house and maybe work on that water purification program he was telling me about. There are a thousand places on Bajor that would be lucky to have Joial working for them.” He reached out for her other hand and maneuvered her so that she would look at him. “Come with me.”

She glanced at Edda.

Kee almost didn’t recognize him without the sour expression he usually wore. He seemed happy with the idea of being able to go on with his life and nodded to her.

Joial also seemed satisfied with the arrangement. He’d had a number of job offers over the years but had always turned them down because the other two needed him. Kee knew he’d be glad to give up that responsibility.

Her mother finally looked back at her father and smiled a thin, uncertain smile. “Ok. I’ll do it.”

He pulled her in for a kiss. The other three waited for them to part but they only kissed deeper. Joial spoke up, “Ok, you two, get a room.”

Kee’s mother just waved them away and they took the cue to make a quick retreat.

* * *

“How can you be so obtuse?!” Kee shot back at Edda.

Jora was beginning to realize that perhaps having the two of them in a runabout for four days had not been her best idea. She’d wanted to spend as much time as possible with Edda before they said goodbye, so she’d had him come with them as far as Starfleet would let him.

He’d been at her side every day for the last thirty-three years. He was the only one she’d had in the refugee camp, he’d been with her at Keedra’s safehouse, and they’d been out on the lake together day after day since the Withdrawal. He’d taken care of her, been the perfect son. Now, it could be years until she saw him again.

She reminded herself that it was only temporary. Falam would finish the work he needed to do, then be released from the obligation. It was strange suddenly having a Starfleet security clearance. He’d been able to talk openly about his project with her and she was struck by, and aroused by, his gifted intelligence that had been so wasted back in the refugee camp. Keedra’d been right, she couldn’t ask him to walk away from this.

“Oh, I forgot, Starfleet thinks it’s the police of the galaxy.” Edda sneered back at Keedra. They’d been arguing about some random incident that Starfleet had been involved in recently. Jora would be glad to rendezvous with Endeavor so the two of them could have some time apart.

Joial’s voice broke through the small vessel’s comm, “Kee, we need you up here immediately.”

Keedra immediately abandoned the argument and rushed toward the cockpit, but before she got there the ship shook violently. She managed to stay on her feet and kept going. Jora followed, telling Edda to keep Iliah in the rear. When she arrived in the cockpit Keedra, Falam and Joial were quickly tapping controls and speaking with strained voices.

“Can you identify the ship?” Keedra asked.

“No, it’s of an unknown design, no ID markings, nothing. Sensors can’t even penetrate the hull.” Falam said.

The ship shook again, “What are they hitting us with?” Keedra asked.

“It’s a graviton pulse. They’re trying to knock us out of warp.” Falam said.

“Turning our trick right back on us.” Keedra mumbled. “Is there any way to disburse the next pulse before it reaches us?”

“We could send out an inverse wave that would cancel it out, but we don’t have time to--” The end of his sentence was punctuated by a third pulse. This time the ship lurched and Jora could hear the warp reactor shutting down. Alarms blared and stars flew by sideways as Joial struggled to regain control of the ship. Finally, the ship stabilized.

“Alright, that’s how we’re going to do this.” Keedra muttered under her breath.

“Bringing us about.” Joial responded to Keedra’s unspoken directive. While he flew the runabout in a seemingly erratic pattern, Keedra worked the controls to fire back.

A flash of light came at them from the unknown ship, this time their ship shook so violently that Jora was knocked to her knees.

“Shields down to thirty-two percent!” Keedra called out, seeming to fire every weapon this ship had. “What was that?”

“They’ve got some massive weaponry over there.” Falam answered.

Iliah came running to her from the back with Edda trying to catch her. She held on to her to keep her out of the way. The other ship opened fire again, the runabout lurched and control panels popped and sparked.

“Our shields are down.” Keedra announced. Before she had even finished saying it a small device was beamed into the middle of the cockpit. Jora expected an explosion but instead was washed over by a burst of brilliant light, then nothing.

* * *

Kee awoke to excruciating pain in her head. She opened her eyes and blinked to try to clear her blurry vision. As she tried to push herself up off of the floor she found that her hands were bound together with restraints. She pushed herself onto her elbows and a pair of heavy boots stepped in front of her.

A hand with barbs on the knuckles reached toward her. The Nausicaan grasped the front of her uniform and lifted her off her feet to study her face to face. Beyond his horned and bony features, she could see the members of her family awakening in a holding cell behind him, but she kept her eyes focused on his. She wrapped her hands around his forearm which was covered with bladed armor similar to what she’d seen before.

He spoke in the distinctive, halted manor of Nausicaans, “You… killed my brother… Starfleet, Bajoran.” The one from the raiding party at the research outpost? One of the ones on the ship they’d chased? “Now… I cut you open… fillet each of your family… while you… bleed out. Then I take… the engineer… to my employer.”

Her eyes involuntarily flicked over to them and back while her feet dangled in midair. The space around them was cramped and cluttered, not much room for a fight, but she’d done it in close quarters before. She could do this. She’d faced worse. Or, at least, she thought so.

She could hear Joial shout something at the Nausicaan that included expletives from multiple languages, but she ignored him and the rest of them to focus on what she needed to do. The Nausicaan raised a viscous-looking knife and she pushed the image of her family members being killed with it out of her mind.

Forcing herself to make her move, she lifted her legs to walk up the front of the Nausicaan’s body, hooking the controls of her restraints onto one of the blades on his forearm armor, then continued the movement, pushing off and flipping backward out of his grasp. As she landed she was pleased to find that the middle of the restraints had broken and her hands were free.

The Nausicaan laughed deeply. “Make it… a challenge… Make it… more fun.” He lunged toward her with the knife and she backed up to avoid it, dodging two more slashes. Soon her back was nearly against the door she assumed led to the cockpit.

Kee started to turn as the door opened suddenly and a second Nausicaan grabbed her from behind, holding her upper arms tight behind her. She struggled in vain against his greater strength and mass. The first Nausicaan moved toward her with his knife ready.

She pushed hard to the right, forcing the one holding her to concentrate his strength toward the left. When she saw the knife coming toward her she lunged to the left and down. At the last moment, she tucked her head tight against her chest causing the slashing knife to sink deep into the vulnerable spot under his jaw. Thick Nausicaan blood poured over her shoulder and he dropped to the floor, almost pulling her down with him.

The attacking Nausicaan pulled his knife back and roared in rage. Kee ducked out of the way but there was nowhere to go in the small interior. He turned and attacked again, she blocked blow after blow. As soon as she had an opening, she lashed out to hit the underside of his jaw, but he blocked it.

When he thought he had her pinned in a corner, she dove out of the way causing his knife to sink deep into the bulkhead. He pulled at the knife but couldn’t get it out. He turned and attacked with his bare hands, his fist connected with her jaw and the barbs on his knuckles cut parallel slashes across her cheek.

Kee ignored the pain and looked around for something she could use as a weapon but found nothing that wasn’t bolted down. He grabbed her by the front of her uniform and threw her against the forward bulkhead like she weighed nothing. Her head hit hard and she blinked away pinpoints of light. She braced herself against it and kicked into his chest, slowing him down only slightly. She used that moment to move to the side to give herself more space. She couldn’t over power him and she wasn’t going to outlast him either.

He now stood over the dead body of his companion in the doorway of the cockpit. She was barely an arms-length away from him with her back to the holding cell at the rear. He suddenly lunged toward her, slamming his massive fist into her chest.

Pain flooded her chest and she was certain that ribs gave way under the blow. The force of it sent her tumbling backwards right into the holding cell’s force field. Electricity from the forcefield momentarily stung her back and she landed face down on the floor, gasping, desperate to fill her lungs with air. When she finally inhaled, pain lanced through the left side of her chest. She moved her hands under her body but remained coughing on the floor, despite her family shouting at her to get up.

Without looking she could hear the Nausicaan’s huge boots approaching. When she thought he was close enough, she reached her legs out, intertwining them around his ankles and twisted, dropping him to the deck.

She bounded back to her feet and backed away from him, trying to focus through the pain but every movement shot pain through her chest that tore away at her concentration. He was back on his feet and angrier than before, but he’d been injured in the fall. One of the plates on his face was bleeding.

He came at her again and she ducked and blocked over and over. When he got close enough to her he grabbed her by the front of her uniform with both hands and lifted her up as though to throw her across the room again. He swung her body high and she reached out her foot to catch the bulkhead. A split second later, steadied against the bulkhead with one leg, she brought the knee of the other leg up to slam into the weak spot under his jaw. He let go of her, staggering backward and she tumbled to the floor but came up back on her feet.

Before he regained his footing, she landed several blows with her elbows and fists to the damaged face-plate and to his under-jaw. He reeled backward under her onslaught. Finally, she raised her foot and kicked his jaw one last time and he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

“Kee! The forcefield release! On that panel.” Joial called urgently.

Suddenly the pain in her chest came back to her and she felt herself stumble as she moved to the computer terminal to release her family. She fell against it, grabbing the corner of it to keep herself upright. She managed to tap out the command to deactivate the forcefield penning in her family before dropping to her knees.

As though spring-loaded, her father and Joial rushed past her, one to the cockpit and the other to locate a weapon in case the Nausicaan woke up. Iliah was immediately at her side with her arms around her neck. Kee squeezed her daughter tightly for a moment then pulled back to look at her tiny, tear-stained face. “I need you to stay with your grandmother right now, ok?”

“Ok.” She said, turning away toward her grandmother who was searching for something.

Kee pushed herself to her feet and staggered over to the unconscious Nausicaan then began searching his pockets and removing anything that could be used as a tool or weapon. She was certain now that she had some broken ribs. With every movement, she could feel bones in her rib cage shifting. She gritted her teeth against the pain as she rolled him over to search the back of him.

When she was finished Joial tucked the disrupter he’d found into his belt and stooped to lift the Nausicaan’s legs. Kee hooked her elbows under his arms and tried lifting him up but her strength gave out. She looked up to find her brother standing nearby, uncertain how to help. “Edda! Help me?”

He came over and together they lifted the Nausicaan up and carried him to the holding cell. After dropping him unceremoniously onto the floor, she moved back to the console and reactivated the force field. With nowhere to sit and the pain finally overwhelming her, she leaned her back against the bulkhead and slid down to the floor. Then leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes to work to calm her ragged breathing. She was vaguely aware of Joial and Edda moving the dead Nausicaan’s body away.

Soon her mother knelt by her side. “I can’t find a med kit anywhere.”

“I’m not surprised. Nausicaan’s don’t use them much.”

She pursed her lips disapprovingly while folding up a piece of cloth to press against Kee’s cheek, “I’ll have to check your injuries, though.”

As Kee nodded she felt a small hand grasp hers and she looked down into her daughter’s face. Iliah asked, “Does it hurt?”

Kee managed a smile, “Only a little, baby.” She lied and didn’t add that it hurt less than it would have to see them all killed. Once Kee had slipped her bloodstained uniform tunic off of her shoulders, her mother gently placed her hands on Kee’s ribs and pain once again shot through her chest but she only allowed a small sound to escape. Then her mother carefully patted other parts of her torso without causing pain. Finally, she lifted a flashlight she’d found somewhere and shined it into her eyes.

“You have a concussion and at least a few broken ribs. You need to stay here and rest.”

“No, I need to help them get us to Endeavor.”

“You have broken ribs, you’re staying right here. Your father and Joial can get us where we need to go.”

“I’ll be fine, I can still help.” She insisted, trying to get to her feet.

“You’ll be no help to anybody with a punctured lung.” The ease with which she held Kee down with only one hand confirmed her point.

“Fine,” she consented, “I’ll stay here and guard the prisoner, but take Iliah up there,” she nodded toward the cockpit, sending a throbbing pain through her head. “I don’t want any of you here when he wakes up.”

“We can’t leave you here alone with a concussion.” She insisted, then spied Edda. “Stay here with your sister. I’ll keep Iliah up there with Joial and your father. If anything changes or she gets worse, come and get me right away.” Without waiting for agreement, she picked up Iliah and took her away into the cockpit, closing the door behind her.

Edda walked over to where Kee was sitting. He was awkwardly holding the disrupter that Joial had had earlier, then he handed it over to Kee. “I guess you’d better keep this.”

She took it from him and thanked him as he took a place on the floor next to her. She waited, expecting another argument. After all, this had happened as a result of something she’d done. Someone she’d killed. She automatically inspected the disrupter’s settings and checked the power level. Finally, she heard him breathe in sharply to begin speaking and he surprised her by saying softly, “That was kind’a awesome.”

She tried to laugh but was soon reminded of her broken ribs.

“Was that from your Starfleet training or the Resistance?” He asked without a hint of sarcasm.

The question took her by surprise and her mouth gaped for a moment, “Um… I don’t even know anymore.”

He looked down at her hands, “You’re shaking!”

She balled her hands into fists to try to calm them, “It’s the adrenalin.” She closed her eyes to focus on relaxing her tense muscles.

Another long pause and she kept waiting for him to return to his old rant against the Resistance and Starfleet and violence. She just wanted to make him understand. Violence was a factor in her life, true, and she’d learned to use it, but she hoped that didn’t make her a violent person, at least.

Finally, he broke the silence again. “I’m sorry… that I’ve been so hard on you all these years.” She searched for something to say, finally he continued, “Kershtd wanted to go off and join the Resistance with you, you know?” She didn’t. “But I convinced him not to. Told him that we couldn’t leave Mother alone. She’d already lost Father and you, we were all she had left, we couldn’t do that to her.” He lowered his head, “The thing is that I just didn’t want to be left alone either.”

Out of the corner of her eye she could see tears brimming in his eyes. He blinked them away before continuing. “He resented me for making him stay. Things were never the same between us after that.” He let out a shaking breath. “If I’d just let him go…”

She thought about what it would have been like to have one of her big brothers with her then and had to clear tears from her own vision, “It’s not your fault that he died.”

“Yeah, but he wouldn’t have been right there, right then. And _maybe_ he’d still be alive now.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But I can guarantee that he would have been somewhere more dangerous. The reality is that more people in the Resistance died than survived.”

“At least his death would have meant something.” He argued.

“Not always. Remember Nin?” When he nodded, she continued. “The two of us were taken prisoner to be used as bait in a trap. But they only needed one of us, so they killed him. Just like that. And left him there.” She shook her head at the memory that still haunted her dreams almost twenty years later. “We went back later to bury him, but wild animals had already taken the body.

“Ikis and Hep were slaughtered in an attack that killed over a dozen of us. Others were executed for crimes less than mine, or tortured to death or died because we didn’t have medical equipment. The Resistance wasn’t immune to meaningless death. You can’t think that just because he wouldn’t have been right there at exactly that moment that he would have lived or that his death wouldn’t have been pointless. Or any less painful to accept.”

It took long moments before he spoke again, “I know. Really, I know. But it’s much easier to blame someone. To say that if ‘this’ hadn’t happened, ‘that’ wouldn’t have happened. And I didn’t want to blame myself, so I put it all on the Resistance… on you. I reasoned that if you hadn’t gone, he and I could have. But you got to go out there and make a difference in the world and I had to stay behind and watch our friends suffer and brother die. You got to live your life.”

“It wasn’t much of a life. Kill or be killed, always on the run, never knowing who was going to die next. I missed out on a normal life like you had.”

He reached down and placed his hand on hers. She opened it up and, for the first time since they were children, she held his hand. After a moment he spoke again, “And, thank you, all those times I picked a fight with you, for not kicking my butt like that.” He said, nodding toward the holding cell.

She tried to stifle a laugh, but the movement was enough to send pain shooting through her chest. “‘Butt.’ Wow, you better watch that language.” She teased.

* * *

Jora hadn’t heard any shouting or even raised voices from the other side of the door. It had been many years since her two children had been able to be in the same room with each other without it breaking down into an argument. That made her a little bit nervous. But she was sure that if Keedra’s condition had deteriorated or if their prisoner was causing any trouble, they’d have heard about it.

She tried to stay cheerful for Iliah’s sake but was still trying to make sense of what she’d witnessed. Watching her daughter fight for her life, for all of their lives, had been almost too much for her to bear, but thinking back she felt a small twinge of pride. Keedra hadn’t waivered once in her determination.

Falam’s voice broke through her reverie, “I’m detecting a ship on long range sensors.” He paused while he checked the sensor readings. “It’s Endeavor. It looks like they’re conducting a standard search pattern.”

“They’re hailing us.” Joial told him. “I’m opening a channel.”

 _“This is the starship Endeavor to the unidentified ship, please respond.”_ The voice belonged to Captain Russel.

Falam spoke up, “This is Norvish Falam, it’s good to see you, Endeavor!”

 _“Mr. Norvish, we detected wreckage from your runabout, is everyone ok?”_ Concern was evident in her voice.

“We’re all alive, but Kee’s been injured, and we have a prisoner aboard.”

_“We’ll tractor you in as soon as you’re within range and have Doctor Evans and a security team meet you in the shuttle bay.”_

“Thank you, Endeavor. Out.” The exchange had been so brief and routine, no hint at what had really happened. No indication of the immense relief that had washed over her or the terror that she still felt inside. If Keedra had faltered just once in those few minutes, they’d all have been subjected to unimaginably horrible deaths.

Burying her fear as she always had, she moved Iliah so that she could watch Endeavor bring them in. The little girl pointed out what each piece of equipment on the rear of the ship was called and what its function was. She was certainly her grandfather’s girl. The ship shuttered slightly as the tractor beam set it down on the hangar deck and Joial pressed the controls to open the hatch.

A man with a blue Starfleet uniform carrying a metical kit pushed in first. Jora opened the door to the rear compartment and showed him to where Keedra sat. She was clearly in pain and fighting shock as the doctor began scanning her. Jora motioned to Edda and asked him to stay with Iliah.

A group of four security officers entered the crowded space, all of them carrying phaser rifles. Keedra pushed the doctor’s tricorder probe away from her face irritably and spoke to her security officers. “The three of you, transport him directly to a holding cell, I don’t want him in the corridors. Eyes-on protocol.”

“Yes, sir.” One of them answered as they lowered the force field and called for the transporter operator to beam three of them to the holding area.

Keedra turned to the remaining officer. “Streck, there’s a body in the cargo hold, beam it to the morgue. And I want a security detail on my family 24-7, just in case.”

As the officer turned away to carry out her orders, the doctor stated his findings. “Well, you didn’t just _break_ a few ribs this time, you _shattered_ four of them.” He said irritably.

_This time?_

One corner of Keedra’s lips curled up, “I’m sorry.”

“You should be. Now I have to spend the afternoon in surgery. That’s not to mention the concussion and these abrasions.” He said with a tone that conveyed only mock irritability. As he spoke he took a hypospray out of his kit and loaded it. He turned Keedra’s face to the side to expose her neck and pressed the hypospray against it.

Immediately Keedra’s face and body relaxed as the pain killer relieved her suffering and she slipped into a state of semi-consciousness.

The doctor gently slid one hand behind her back, leaning her forward to rest on his shoulder and tapped his commbadge, “Transporter room, two to beam directly to sickbay.”

Before the command could be carried out, Jora stepped in, “I’m her mother, I’m coming too.”

The doctor considered her for a moment then spoke to his commbadge again, “Make that three to beam to sickbay.”

The alien spacecraft around her disappeared to be replaced by a modern-looking medical facility. Maggie and another nurse were waiting for them and together they lifted Keedra onto the main bio-bed.

Jora caught bits and pieces of their medical lingo, enough to understand what she already knew, Keedra had been lucky to survive the assault. Maggie approached Jora and gently moved her away from the surgical area, firmly telling her to stay there.

At the same time the other nurse began removing Keedra’s turtleneck and Jora saw for the first time the cost of victory over the Nausicaan. Her shoulders and elbows were covered with purple bruises. She’d seen it before, they were both offensive and defensive marks. Helpless to do anything, she found a place to sit and wait.

* * *

The sounds of sickbay reached Kee’s awareness first. Then the dull ache of her ribcage. Finally, she manages to lift her heavy eyelids to look up into Loren’s face.

“Hey, there.”

“Hey.” She said back weakly.

“Mommy!” Iliah exploded out of his arms, landing right on top of Kee. Pain sliced through her chest and she suppressed an agonizing gasp.

“Iliah!” He scolded.

“It’s alright.” Kee said, wrapping her arms around her little girl and kissed her on the top of her head. She took a few moments to enjoy holding her against her heart with an embrace that easily could have never happened. To see her little girl in danger by far overshadowed any other experience she’d ever been through. She saw her mother standing off to one side and for a moment realized the terror she must have lived with daily all those years Kee was with the Resistance.

Loren leaned down and kissed her gently. “I’ll let you get some rest.” Then he tugged on Iliah’s hand, “Come on. Let’s fill up your deuterium tank.”

“Yay! Lunch!” She squealed, “Will Joial be there?” She asked as they walked away.

“They’re all waiting for us in the mess hall.”

Iliah bounded along next to her dad the rest of the way out of sickbay as though she were spring loaded.

Finally, her mother tentatively stepped closer. “The doctor said he had to replace four ribs.”

She could practically hear his tone of voice when he informed her mother of that. She shifted slightly and winced when her bones protested.

“Are you in paint? Should I get the doctor?”

“No. It’s fine. He doesn’t believe in fully masking pain. Says pain is your body’s way of telling you what _not_ to do.”

Before she could say more, Streck walked into sickbay with a padd in his hand. “I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but I thought you’d like to see the report on our prisoner right away.” He said, holding the padd out to her.

“Thank you, I do.” She said, taking it from him, but only tucking it against her side for now.

Without another word, Streck turned and left.

Her mother picked up her other hand and stared at it for a long time, seeming to be searching for something in her mind. Finally, she began, “I’ve thought a lot about what you said to me a few weeks ago. That I don’t accept you for who you are or respect your decisions.”

Kee waited silently, expecting a denial followed by an argument that she definitely wasn’t up to right now.

“At first I told myself that you had it all wrong. That you misunderstood and misinterpreted what I’ve said and done. That you were reading into things that weren’t there. But I’m realizing that you’re right.

“Ever since you were Iliah’s age, I had this idea of what you _should_ grow up to be. This model of what I thought the perfect woman would be. When you came back to the refugee camp that night and took us to the safe house, I realized how much you’d changed, but I thought that if we could just live a normal life for a while, I could mold you back into what I wanted you to be.

“When the Cardassians left, I thought I’d finally have my chance. There we were, living together as a family again, taking care of each other. But the more I tried to ‘fix’ you, the more I ended up pushing you away.” Her voice tightened enough that she had to stop and she blinked tears away. “I was talking to your captain-”

“You talked to the captain?!” Kee said, horrified. What could they have to talk about?

“We had coffee while you were in surgery.” She said, exasperated. “Don’t be so dramatic. But the way she talks about you, the way Joial and your father talk about you, the way your officers respond to you…” She gestured to the door where Streck had exited. “It’s clear, this is where you belong. This is _you_. You made the right choice.”

It was long moments before Kee could trust herself to speak. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. And I never wanted to hurt you or defy you, but this life is just something I have to do.”

“I understand that now. And I promise I’ll stop trying to control you so much.”

“‘So much’? Not entirely?”

“I _am_ still a Bajoran mother, after all.” She said with a smirk.

Kee laughed, careful not to move too deeply. “Poor Iliah, she has the Bajoran mother but not the stubbornness of her own to push back with.”

“Well, she has a grandmother that will do it for her.”

It felt good to laugh with her mother for once. It had been so long since there had been any joy in their relationship.

Her mother still held loosely on to her hand and looked thoughtfully at her fingers.

“Trying to figure out which one they replaced?”

“What!?”

Kee grinned at her shocked expression. “Gotcha!”

She sighed heavily, “You’ve been spending too much time with your uncle.”

* * *

Loren ambled into the living area and sat down on the other end of the couch from Kee. She immediately went over to him and, straddling his legs, she sat down on his lap facing him.

“Hey, the doctor said you need to take it easy for a few weeks.”

Kee shrugged playfully, “Well… you’re easy, so I should take you, then.” She teased and leaned down for a soft kiss that turned deeper as she pressed into him. She never could resist the taste of his lips. His hands slid around her waist and she pressed her body tighter against him.

When she finally pulled back for a breath, he said, “How are you doing?”

She naturally shrugged off the inquiry like she always did, “I’m fine. The new ribs are a little sore, but that’ll pass.”

“I meant, how are _you_ doing? Iliah’s never been directly in danger before. How are you handling it?”

She sighed deeply. To be honest, she’d avoided thinking about it. “Avoidance, mostly.” She said honestly.

“Kee.” He said in a warning tone.

She deflated slightly, “Okay, I’ll deal with it. I promise.”

“That’s all I ask.”

She leaned down to him again and had just barely brushed her lips against his when the pain in her chest returned. “I hope this gets better before Jeff needs me again.” She said, twisting her torso to lessen the pressure on her right side.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” He said, “You’re not going to go through withdrawal, are you?” He gently pulled her close enough for a kiss. “If so, I can help you out with that.” He suddenly straightened and put on a serious expression. “The sheep went to France in the spring.” He said, narrowing his eyes with a conspiratorial tone in his voice.

Kee couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “That is a terrible code phrase! You’d get yourself and your contact killed using a code phrase like that!”

She was still trying to kiss him through her continuing giggles when the door chime sounded. “Come.” She said as she moved off of his lap.

“Woah! Don’t let us interrupt.” Her father said, entering the room with her mother at his side.

Kee settled herself back down on the couch next to Loren. “No problem. I’ll get him later. He can’t escape.”

Just as her parents were settling down in a chair that was narrow enough that they had to squeeze together, which they didn’t seem to mind at all, the door opened again and Iliah pranced in, followed by Maggie.

“Hey, Iliah is _totally_ done deconstructing sickbay.” Maggie said.

“Thanks for watching her.” Kee said and the door chimed once again. “Come.”

“This is where everybody’s been hiding.” Joial said, finding a seat with Edda close behind. Edda sat down cross-legged on the floor and Iliah plopped down into his lap.

Kee turned sideways on the couch and leaned back with her legs draped across Loren’s lap. She closed her eyes and listened to the lighthearted conversation around her. All these years that she’d been so focused on duty and survival and desperately trying to oppose the injustice of the universe, all of these people had fallen into place around her.

She was born a poor refugee, raised as a dirty and starved child with a miserable future ahead of her. A member of an oppressed and abused race. Yet here she was with the richest wealth right here around her: her mother, her father, her brother and uncle, her best friend, her child and her husband.

She smiled to herself.

Breaking into her reverie was a familiar beep from the comm system. She opened her eyes and peeked over at the console where a distinctive indicator lit up, informing her of an incoming message from Jeff. While her family continued their discussion, she watched the blinking pattern for a moment while one corner of her mouth crept up into a smirk.

_  
I am strong because I've been weak._

_I am fearless because I've been afraid._

_I am wise because I've been foolish.  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading about Kee's life. It's been a long and exhausting but enjoyable process to share her with you.
> 
> I plan on adding some backstories for a few of the side characters sometime in the near future.


End file.
